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NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database

Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Janesville, 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 Janesville, Iowa since 1851, 0 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was an unnamed storm in 1900. Since 1950, 115 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 6 of them rated EF3 or stronger.

Hurricanes
0

within 75 mi, since 1851

Tropical storms
1

below hurricane strength

Tornadoes
115

within 25 mi, since 1950

EF3 or stronger
6

11 deaths in all

Tropical storms and hurricanes near Janesville

Tropical systems that passed within 75 miles of Janesville, Iowa, newest first
YearStormClosestStrength when closestPeak
1900Unnamed 1900 stormSep 1175 miTropical storm (47 mph)Category 4

Strength is the sustained wind on the track at the closest point, which is not the wind felt in Janesville: 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 Janesville

By decade

  • 2020s10
  • 2010s13
  • 2000s31(3 EF3+)
  • 1990s12
  • 1980s12
  • 1970s21(1 EF3+)
  • 1960s16(2 EF3+)
Strongest tornadoes near Janesville, Iowa
DateRatingDistancePathKilled / injured
May 25, 2008EF54 mi40.97 mi9 / 70
Sep 1, 1961F416 mi26.6 mi0 / 7
May 11, 2000F39 mi18.6 mi1 / 25
Apr 16, 1960F318 mi29.8 mi1 / 5
May 25, 2008EF323 mi31.99 mi0 / 3
Nov 9, 1975F317 mi39.4 mi0 / 0
Jul 14, 2021EF23 mi12.88 mi0 / 0
Sep 6, 2001F25 mi11.5 mi0 / 0
May 11, 2000F216 mi5 mi0 / 0
May 11, 2000F213 mi3.6 mi0 / 0
Jul 2, 1999F212 mi8.5 mi0 / 0
Jun 27, 1998F24 mi25.5 mi0 / 0

The strongest 12 of 115, 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 Janesville 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.

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