Iowa tornado and storm history
Tornadoes, hurricanes, hail, and severe storms recorded in Iowa between 1950 and 2026, from NOAA's Storm Events Database. Search an address to see the storms that came closest to it.
3,501
Tornado reports
69,606
Storm events
223
Deaths, all storms
Every tornado track in Iowa
3,456 county track segments since 1950, coloured by rating. Zoom in and each path widens to its surveyed width. Tap one for the storm.
EF0EF1EF2EF3EF4EF5Unrated
Tornadoes by decade in Iowa
All tornado reports against only the strong ones (F2 and above). Averages are per year over the years the federal record covers completely — 1952, 1976 and 1993 are each missing whole months in NOAA’s own files and are left out.
| Decade | All reports | Strong (F2+) | All per year | Strong per year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1950s | 133 | 83 | 15 | 9 |
| 1960s | 328 | 189 | 33 | 19 |
| 1970s | 308 | 109 | 34 | 12 |
| 1980s | 462 | 124 | 46 | 12 |
| 1990s | 469 | 108 | 52 | 12 |
| 2000s | 633 | 56 | 63 | 6 |
| 2010s | 573 | 59 | 57 | 6 |
The 2020s are left out because the decade is not finished. Reports are counted per county, so one tornado crossing a county line can appear more than once.
Significant recent events in Iowa
Events with deaths, several injuries, $1M+ property damage, or tornadoes rated EF3 and up.
A semi truck traveling southwest on Interstate 80 lost control in the wind and was blown over, resulting in one indirect fatality. The highest measured wind gust in the county was 51 mph measured by the KCBF AWOS at 1435 CST.
Widespread dense fog reduced visibility to near 0 across Monona County. The Iowa State Patrol reported fog was present at a two-vehicle accident near the intersection of 130th Street and Walnut Avenue east of Mapleton at approximately 7:41 PM CST on December 25th. An eastbound ve…
A damaging wind event swept through Page County, Iowa, during the morning of August 10th, 2025. The most severe damage occurred near Shenandoah, where straight-line wind gusts were estimated as high as 95 miles per hour. Tragically, 1 mile north-northwest of Shenandoah, Emergency…
Area observations recorded visibility under one quarter mile overnight and through the morning.
Area observations recorded visibility under one quarter mile overnight and through the morning.
Broadcast media reported that a historic church north of Keosauqua Iowa was struck by lightning that resulted in a fire and the total loss of the building. The time of the event was estimated using radar.
Rainfall amounts across Woodbury County from June 20-22 were generally 1.0 inch or less. Farther north and upstream, 6 to 10 inches fell across portions of northwest Iowa and southeast South Dakota. This rainfall resulted in record flooding along the Big Sioux, Little Sioux, and …
The West Fork of the Des Moines at Estherville crested at 18.1 ft on June 24 at 09:00 am CDT. The river remained in flood through the end of the month and into July. Preliminary information indicates this is the new flood of record for the point.
Rainfall amounts across Dickinson County from June 20-22 ranged from 5 to 10 inches. Widespread overland flooding ensued with additional major to record flooding along the West Fork Little Sioux and Little Sioux Rivers. Lakeshore flooding was also observed across the Iowa Great L…
Rainfall amounts across O'Brien County from June 20-22 ranged from 5 to 9 inches, with the highest amounts across the northern half of the county. Widespread overland flooding ensued with additional minor to major flooding along the Floyd and Little Floyd Rivers, and Waterman Cre…
Rainfall amounts across Plymouth County from June 20-22 ranged from only a few hundredths across southern areas to around 2 inches across northern areas. Farther north and upstream, 6 to 10 inches of rain fell across portions of southeast South Dakota and northwest Iowa, with loc…
Rainfall amounts across Cherokee County from June 20-22 ranged from around a quarter of an inch across southern areas to around 2 inches across northern areas. Farther north and upstream, 5 to 10 inches of rain fell across portions of northwest Iowa. This rainfall resulted in mod…
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 m…
Rainfall amounts across Clay County from June 20-22 ranged from 3 to 7 inches. Farther north and upstream, up to 10 inches of rain fell across portions of northwest Iowa. This rainfall resulted in extensive overland flooding and record flooding along the Little Sioux and Ocheyeda…
Rainfall amounts across Lyon County from June 20-22 ranged from 7 to 12 inches. Widespread overland flooding ensued with additional major to record flooding along the Big Sioux, Rock, and Little Rock Rivers, and Mud Creek. At the peak of flooding, approximately 50 people were eva…
Counties and zones
Each county’s full storm history, with its event count. Some entries are National Weather Service forecast zones rather than civil counties.
Adair (612)
Adams (424)
Allamakee (469)
Appanoose (563)
Audubon (447)
Benton (989)
Black Hawk (1,062)
Boone (806)
Bremer (581)
Bremer, Butler and Black Hawk (2)
Buchanan (821)
Buchanan and Delaware (1)
Buena Vista (712)
Butler (734)
Calhoun (609)
Carroll (690)
Carroll, Sac, Calhoun and Pocahontas (1)
Cass (724)
Cedar (737)
Cerro Gordo (853)
Cerro Gordo and Floyd (1)
Cherokee (708)
Chickasaw (495)
Clarke (549)
Clay (998)
Clayton (735)
Clinton (832)
Clinton and Scott (1)
Crawford (627)
Dallas (1,181)
Davis (416)
Decatur (475)
Decatur and Clarke (1)
Delaware (697)
Des Moines (709)
Dickinson (845)
Dubuque (965)
Emmet (624)
Fayette (634)
Floyd (621)
Franklin (602)
Fremont (536)
Greene (557)
Grundy (558)
Guthrie (706)
Guthrie, Greene and Carroll (1)
Hamilton (683)
Hancock (567)
Hardin (693)
Harrison (698)
Henry (502)
Howard (492)
Howard and Winneshiek (1)
Humboldt (551)
Ida (555)
Ida and Sac (1)
Iowa (600)
Jackson (578)
Jasper (776)
Jefferson (450)
Johnson (901)
Jones (739)
Keokuk (482)
Kossuth (835)
Lee (722)
Linn (1,436)
Louisa (457)
Lucas (490)
Lyon (774)
Madison (585)
Mahaska (622)
Marion (919)
Marshall (748)
Mills (516)
Mitchell (484)
Monona (516)
Monroe (405)
Montgomery (454)
Muscatine (726)
O'brien (826)
Osceola (607)
Page (509)
Palo Alto (580)
Plymouth (1,017)
Pocahontas (595)
Polk (2,373)
Pottawattamie (774)
Poweshiek (554)
Ringgold (461)
Sac (513)
Scott (1,273)
Shelby (479)
Shelby and Crawford (1)
Sioux (1,046)
Story (1,318)
Story and Boone (1)
Story and Hardin (1)
Tama (625)
Taylor (580)
Union (569)
Union, Adair, Guthrie and Dallas (1)
Van Buren (515)
Wapello (770)
Warren (1,065)
Washington (583)
Wayne (493)
Webster (1,007)
Winnebago (542)
Winneshiek (627)
Woodbury (1,213)
Worth (513)
Wright (598)
Search your address
See every tornado that passed within 25 miles of a place in Iowa, measured to its path.
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