Storm Lake

Every recorded tornado

1. Injuries and deaths are for the tornado’s whole path, which may extend beyond this area.
2. Weak tornadoes were under-recorded before Doppler radar coverage became national in the early 1990s, so earlier decades read low. Ratings use the Fujita scale before February 2007 and the Enhanced Fujita scale after.

Storm Prediction Center severe weather database, 1950 to 2025.

Smoke overhead

1. A smoke day is a date on which a smoke plume traced by NOAA Hazard Mapping System analysts from satellite imagery covered this place's point (the county's population centre or the city centre). Counts here are of medium or heavy smoke. Since 2018 analysts have often drawn light smoke as one area over most of the continent, so light-smoke counts are not comparable from year to year. The plumes show smoke anywhere in the air above, not air quality at the ground, and smoke hidden by cloud is missed.

NOAA Hazard Mapping System smoke analysis, 2011 to 2026, retrieved October 30, 2026.

Flood insurance figures are for Buena Vista County, the county that contains Storm Lake.

This product uses the Federal Emergency Management Agency's OpenFEMA API, but is not endorsed by FEMA. The Federal Government or FEMA cannot vouch for the data or analyses derived from these data after the data have been retrieved from the Agency's website(s).

OpenFEMA NFIP Redacted Claims v3, refreshed August 4, 2026. NOAA Storm Events through 2026.

River crests

River gauges in Buena Vista County, the county that contains Storm Lake.

River gauges

1. Crests are the highest and the recent crests the National Weather Service lists for each river gauge in the county that has a flood stage, not every flood. Flood categories use each gauge's current flood stages; crests from before levees, dams or channel changes may not be comparable. Crests measured on an old datum are left out of the rankings.

NOAA National Water Prediction Service gauge records, retrieved October 30, 2026.

The drought index is for Buena Vista County, the county that contains Storm Lake.

1. The Palmer Drought Severity Index is computed by NOAA each month from the county's average temperature and precipitation, relative to the county's own climate. Zero is normal; -3 or lower is severe drought and -4 or lower extreme drought. It describes the long-term balance of moisture, not water supply or crop losses.

NOAA NCEI nClimDiv county Palmer Drought Severity Index, 1895 to September 2026, issued October 6, 2026.

1. Earthquakes of magnitude 2.5 or more in the USGS Comprehensive Catalog since 1900. Within 50 miles means the epicentre lies within 50 miles of the city centre.
2. Small earthquakes were under-recorded before the modern seismic networks of the 1970s and are still missed in remote areas, so early decades read low. Magnitudes are as the catalogue reports them and mix scales (moment, local and body-wave).

USGS ANSS Comprehensive Earthquake Catalog, 1900 to present, retrieved October 30, 2026.

More event types since 1996

Costliest events since 1996

1. Jun 21, 2024Flood$2.4 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Rainfall amounts across Buena Vista County from June 20-22 ranged from around a quarter of an inch across southern areas to nearly 3 inches across northern areas. Farther north and upstream, 3 to 7 inches of rain fell across portions of northwest Iowa. This rainfall resulted in major to record flooding along the Little Sioux River and overland flooding along the adjoining flood plain. ||The majority of flood impacts occurred across the far northern portion of the county, including the communities of Sioux Rapids and Linn Grove. Several area homes were proactively evacuated. Most of the business district in Sioux Rapids flooded with some buildings collapsing. Approximately 80 homes…

2. Mar 13, 2019Flood$1.6 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Flooding resulted in extensive damage to public infrastructure including numerous county and township roads, culverts, and some bridges.

3. Oct 4, 2013Tornado$1.2 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   A tornado destroyed a garage and damaged several other buildings and farm equipment on a farm, and damaged trees and power lines. The tornado also damaged a metal building system. The tornado also severely damaged the roof and air conditioning units at a school near Alta, and destroyed bleachers at the school.

4. Apr 9, 2011Tornado$1.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   A tornado affected several farmsteads, damaging several homes, some beyond repair. The tornado destroyed or damaged numerous outbuildings, several silos, farm equipment, and livestock shelters. Numerous power lines, power poles, and trees were blown down. The tornado crossed into Buena Vista County from Sac County, then crossed out of Buena Vista County into Pocahontas County.

5. Aug 8, 2010Thunderstorm Wind$500,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Thunderstorm winds blew the roof off a manufacturing plant, damaged docks and boats along the lake, caused widespread tree damage including numerous large trees blown down, blew down power lines and poles, resulting in power outages, damaged or destroyed several small sheds, blew down several awnings on businesses, snapped a 4 inch by 4 inch street sign pole, and blew shingles off roofs. Numerous vehicles, homes, and businesses sustained minor damage directly from the wind, while other vehicles and homes were damaged by falling trees and tree debris, some heavily.

6. May 26, 2013Flash Flood$500,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Widespread heavy rainfall of up to 8 inches caused flash flooding which was also widespread, affecting the western and southern parts of the county. There was significant flooding of numerous streets and homes, with an estimated 1,500 homes and businesses in the city of Storm Lake affected by basement or lower level flooding. The Storm Lake City Hall was included, with two feet of water in its basement. Rural areas in the western part of the county were also impacted, with numerous roads, fields, and homes flooded.

7. Dec 15, 2021Tornado$250,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   The tornado spun up just north of Rembrandt at 1718CST near the intersection of 120th Avenue and 470th Street. The tornado tracked northeast, and dissipated near the Little Sioux River one mile east of Sioux Rapids at 1722CST. A residence near the touchdown had siding and roofing torn from the home, along with snapped large pine trees. Along 460th Street just west of U.S. Highway 71, several large wooden power poles were snapped. The tornado continued northeast, crossing U.S. 71 one-half mile north of 460th Street where it destroyed several small buildings. More power poles were snapped along 450th Street east of U.S. 71, with the final damage noted in snapped trees along the…

8. Dec 15, 2021Tornado$200,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   This is the third segment of a tornado which developed 2 miles north-northwest of Galva at 1658CST, and tracked northeast through extreme southeast Cherokee County. The tornado entered Buena Vista County at 1701CST, one-half mile south of the intersection of 10th Avenue and 640th Street. Along 640th Street, the tornado destroyed two outbuildings on a farmstead and damaged three others, removed a chimney from the roof of the residence, downed several light poles, and snapped and uprooted several large trees. Numerous other large trees were snapped or uprooted as the tornado tracked northeast over the next two miles, before damaging the roof of a hog confinement along 620th Street…

9. Jun 24, 2005Flash Flood$200,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Heavy rainfall of around 5 inches caused widespread flooding of streets, with up to 4 feet of water covering some intersections. Numerous vehicles stalled, including a police car responding to an emergency. Numerous basements and some surface floors of buildings were flooded, with several houses having up to 6 inches of water on ground level floors. The overflow of storm sewers caused treated sewage water to drain into the lake. Nearby fields and crops were also flooded.

10. Apr 7, 2001High Wind, Buena Vista$200,000
    National Weather Service narrative

    High winds caused widespread tree, sign, and roof damage. Other damage to structures, such as siding and windows, also occurred. The Spencer Livestock Sales facility was heavily damaged with fences blown down and the wall of one building blown down, although there were no reports of livestock lost.

1. Storm Events records before 1996 cover only tornadoes, thunderstorm wind and hail. Damage figures are as reported by the National Weather Service at the time, not adjusted for inflation.

NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, 1950 to 2026, issued October 26, 2026.

All-time high

109°F2 times, most recently Jul 4, 1936

All-time low

−34°F2 times, most recently Feb 3, 1905

Warmest night

81°FAug 18, 1936

Coldest day

−18°FJan 12, 1912

Wettest day

6.65 inAug 31, 1962

Snowiest day

13.0 in2 times, most recently Feb 21, 1993

Hottest year

1931mean 51.6°F

Coldest year

1979mean 42.8°F

Wettest year

195145.94 in

Driest year

197613.90 in

Snowiest season

73.1 in1982-83

Station Storm Lake (USC00137979), 1,439 ft elevation, 0.3 miles from the city centre. Daily records from 1893 to October 21, 2026; 90.3% of days in the last 30 years are complete. Records at a single station can differ from a city’s official threaded record, which may combine several stations.

NOAA NCEI Global Historical Climatology Network Daily.

Declarations for Buena Vista County.

This product uses the Federal Emergency Management Agency's OpenFEMA API, but is not endorsed by FEMA. The Federal Government or FEMA cannot vouch for the data or analyses derived from these data after the data have been retrieved from the Agency's website(s).

OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries, retrieved October 30, 2026. Statewide declarations are not listed.

• Tornadoes NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather database, through 2025.
• Tropical cyclones NOAA National Hurricane Center HURDAT2 (Atlantic; Northeast and Central Pacific), through 2025.
• Wildfire USGS/USFS Monitoring Trends in Burn Severity, through 2026.
• Storm events NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, through 2026.
• Flood insurance OpenFEMA NFIP Redacted Claims v3, refreshed August 4, 2026.
• Declarations OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries v2, retrieved October 30, 2026.
• Weather records NOAA NCEI Global Historical Climatology Network Daily, station USC00137979.
• River crests NOAA National Weather Service, National Water Prediction Service river gauges, retrieved October 30, 2026.
• Drought NOAA NCEI nClimDiv county Palmer Drought Severity Index, through September 2026.
• Smoke NOAA NESDIS Hazard Mapping System smoke analysis, retrieved October 30, 2026.
• Earthquakes USGS ANSS Comprehensive Earthquake Catalog (ComCat), retrieved October 30, 2026.

Joins, thresholds and known limits are set out in the methodology. Found an error? Report it. Page built October 30, 2026.