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NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database

Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Burlington, IA

Every tropical system within 75 miles since 1851 and every tornado within 25 miles since 1950.

1 tropical system has passed within 75 miles of Burlington, Iowa since 1851, 0 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was an unnamed storm in 1900. Since 1950, 91 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 2 of them rated EF3 or stronger.

Hurricanes
0

within 75 mi, since 1851

Tropical storms
1

below hurricane strength

Tornadoes
91

within 25 mi, since 1950

EF3 or stronger
2

1 deaths in all

Tropical storms and hurricanes near Burlington

Tropical systems that passed within 75 miles of Burlington, Iowa, newest first
YearStormClosestStrength when closestPeak
1900Unnamed 1900 stormSep 1168 miTropical storm (48 mph)Category 4

Strength is the sustained wind on the track at the closest point, which is not the wind felt in Burlington: a hurricane's worst winds sit within a few dozen miles of its centre, and inland cities are usually past that.

Tornadoes within 25 miles of Burlington

By decade

  • 2020s6
  • 2010s15
  • 2000s7
  • 1990s21
  • 1980s13
  • 1970s13
  • 1960s12(2 EF3+)
  • 1950s4
Strongest tornadoes near Burlington, Iowa
DateRatingDistancePathKilled / injured
Jan 24, 1967F310 mi4.3 mi1 / 6
Aug 25, 1965F310 mi3 mi0 / 1
Apr 16, 2024EF215 mi41.66 mi0 / 0
Mar 31, 2023EF213 mi0.95 mi0 / 0
Jun 15, 2019EF217 mi1.3 mi0 / 0
Jun 15, 2019EF217 mi1.82 mi0 / 0
Jul 16, 2015EF222 mi1.72 mi0 / 0
May 10, 2003F223 mi69.2 mi0 / 4
May 10, 2003F220 mi11.5 mi0 / 0
May 4, 1977F210 mi2 mi0 / 0
May 4, 1977F225 mi0.1 mi0 / 1
May 13, 1974F213 mi1 mi0 / 0

The strongest 12 of 91, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.

How to read this page

A storm is listed when the centre of its track passed within 75 miles of Burlington while it was at least a tropical storm, which is the reach of damaging wind and rain for a typical hurricane. Being on the list does not mean the city took a direct hit; the "closest" column says how near the centre came. Tornadoes are counted when any part of the path came within 25 miles.

Tornado records before the 1990s are thinner, because weak tornadoes in open country often went unreported before Doppler radar and mobile phones. A rise in the decade counts is mostly better reporting, not a change in the weather.

Tracks come from the National Hurricane Center's HURDAT2 database, tornadoes from the Storm Prediction Center's database. Both are the official federal records and both are revised as old storms are re-analysed.

Other cities in Iowa