Clayton County, Iowa
Tornadoes, hail, floods and severe storms recorded here between 1953 and 2026, from NOAA's Storm Events Database. Search an address to see which tornadoes came closest to it.
17
Tornado reports
147
Hail reports
185
Floods since 1996
735
All events
6
Deaths
$62.7M
Property damage
Tornado paths in Clayton County
The part of each tornado’s path NOAA recorded in this county, 16 in all. Zoom in and the paths widen to their surveyed width.
EF0EF1EF2EF3EF4EF5Unrated
Year by year
All storm eventsTornadoes
NOAA's storm database records tornadoes back to 1950 and hail and thunderstorm wind back to 1955, but floods only from 1996 on. Older floods are missing here. For those, the U.S. Geological Survey's stream gauge records and flood reports are the place to look.
Most significant events
The strongest tornadoes, deadliest events and biggest damage here, up to 50.
Tornado F3 Tornado
A northeast Iowa man was killed in a single vehicle accident during the evening of January 16th northwest of North Buena Vista. Light freezing drizzle had coated the roads with a layer of ice. The man lost control of his pickup truck on a curve, slid off the road and hit a rock b…
One person was killed and another injured when two semi's collided at the intersection of U.S. Highway 52 and State Highway 13 southeast of Monona. The driver of one semi failed to stop at the intersection and collided with the second semi. Lead-acid batteries were strewn across …
An EF-1 tornado touched down about 5 miles west of McGregor and then moved through McGregor before dissipating just east of town over the Mississippi River. The most damage occurred in McGregor with two buildings downtown completely destroyed while numerous others were damaged. T…
Accumulating light snow created icy roadways and caused a fatal accident on State Highway 13 approximately four miles west of Edgewood.
Flooding occurred across parts of Clayton County from the combination of rainfall and melting snow. An ice jam on the Turkey River caused flooding to occur near Millville with water going over U.S. Highway 52 and a restaurant sustained major damage. Near the mouth of the Turkey R…
The Turkey River at Garber had a major flood and crested at 29.1 feet around 11:30 a.m. CDT on June 10. The all-time record crest of 32.8 feet occurred on May 23, 2004. Flood stage is 17.0 feet.
The Turkey River at Elkader established a new record crest at about 6 a.m. CDT on June 10 of 30.9 feet. The previous record crest was 27.3 feet on June 15, 1991. Flood stage is 12.0 feet. The river rose again above flood stage from June 12 through June 14th cresting at 16.63 feet…
Most secondary roads were either damaged or under water. Rainfall totals of 3 to 7 inches were reported during the weekend of June 7-8. About 4000 acres of farm land were impacted. Combined with flooding along the Turkey River, a total of 20 homes were destroyed, 9 with major dam…
Mud slides caused trees to fall down off Mississippi River bluffs onto roads and cars were floating in the town of McGregor. Numerous locations across northeast Clayton County, Iowa had wash outs, high water, and damage.
Excessive Heat Excessive Heat
A period of extreme heat moved into the region during the end of June with widespread heat indices over 100 degrees. On June 29th, heat indices ranged from 105 to 111 degrees across the county during the afternoon and early evening. The highest heat index observed in the county w…
Thunderstorm Wind Thunderstorm Wind
A personal weather station reported a 70 mph wind gust 2 mile southeast of Watson.
Thunderstorm Wind Thunderstorm Wind
A mesonet observing site reported a 62 mph wind gust 2 miles southwest of Osborne.
Tornado EFU Tornado
A local fire department provided a video of a brief tornado southeast of Postville. This tornado is not known to have encountered any damage indicators. Therefore, no numerical rating was able to be assigned to this tornado.
Hail Hail
The public reported tennis ball sized hail near Monona.
Winter Weather Winter Weather
The combination of falling snow and gusty winds resulted in near-whiteout conditions at times across Clayton County during the afternoon hours on the 15th through the morning on the 16th. Additionally, snowfall totals of 2 to 4 inches were observed across the county with the high…
Winter Storm Winter Storm
This snow band brought heavy snow to Clayton County where snowfall totals ranged from 4 to 7 inches. The highest reported snowfall total in the county was 1 mile south-southwest of Osborne where 6.2 inches was measured.
Extreme Cold/Wind Chill Extreme Cold/Wind Chill
Beginning late on January 22nd and into the morning hours of January 23rd, a period of extreme cold moved into the region bringing dangerously cold wind chills. In Clayton County, wind chills ranged from around 35 to 50 degrees below zero with the coldest observed wind chill in t…
Winter Storm Winter Storm
This significant winter storm brought between 10 and 13 inches of snow to Clayton County between November 28th and the 30th. The highest snowfall report in the county was located 1 mile east-northeast of Volga where 12.1 inches of snow was observed.
Flood Flood
Heavy rain during the middle of August allowed the Turkey River at Elkader to rise into flood stage during the early evening on August 19th. The site crested at 13.33 ft in minor flood stage during the late morning on August 20th before falling below flood stage just after midnig…
Flash Flood Flash Flood
The public reported a local county road was washed out from flash flooding of Buck Creek roughly 1 mile north of Guttenberg.
Thunderstorm Wind Thunderstorm Wind
Law enforcement reported 3 trees blown down within the city limits of Garber.
Hail Hail
The public reported half dollar sized hail 4 miles south-southwest of Osterdock.
Hail Hail
The public reported nickel sized hail in McGregor.
Hail Hail
The public reported ping pong ball sized hail 2 miles south-southeast of Guttenberg.
Hail Hail
The public reported nickel to quarter sized hail in Osborne.
Hail Hail
The public reported quarter sized hail in McGregor.
Extreme Cold/Wind Chill Extreme Cold/Wind Chill
Minimum wind chills across Clayton County ranged between 25 to 35 degrees on the morning of February 18th. The coldest wind chill in the county of 34 degrees below zero was reported in Monona, Iowa.
Extreme Cold/Wind Chill Extreme Cold/Wind Chill
Dangerously cold wind chills began on the evening of the 20th and continued through noon on the 21st in Clayton County where values dropped between 35 to 45 degrees below zero. The coldest observed wind chill in the county of 42 degrees below zero was recorded in Monona, IA.
Ice Storm Ice Storm
Freezing rain and sleet began across Clayton County during the early morning hours, by the afternoon numerous locations across the county had reported ice amounts ranging from 0.15 to 0.3. The highest of these was in Guttenberg, IA which reported 0.3 of ice accumulation.
Strong Wind Strong Wind
Law enforcement reported a semi trailer was blown over near St. Olaf when encountering strong winds. A nearby automated weather observation station at Prairie Du Chien, Wisconsin reported wind gusts between 40 and 50 mph during the time of the accident.
Drought Drought
Throughout the entirety of September and through October 29th, only 0.5 to 2 inches of precipitation fell in Clayton County. This 4 to 7 inch deficit for this period resulted in the development of severe drought by mid-October. Severe drought conditions ended in the county by Oct…
Thunderstorm Wind Thunderstorm Wind
The public reported damage to a barn via social media east of Elkader. The barn had its door blown in and half of the roof blown off.
Thunderstorm Wind Thunderstorm Wind
The public reported a corn field flattened along the east side of State Highway 52.
Excessive Heat Excessive Heat
Anomalously warm air temperatures and high humidity allowed the heat index to reach between 110 to 120 degrees on August 26th across Clayton County.
Hail Hail
The public reported nickel sized hail 2 miles west of Cassville.
Thunderstorm Wind Thunderstorm Wind
Law enforcement estimated a 75 mph wind gust near North Buena Vista.
Flood Flood
Significant rainfall throughout June pushed the Mississippi River at McGregor into flood stage on June 27th and continued into July. The river stage crested during the evening on July 5th in moderate flood stage at 649.72 ft.
Flood Flood
Significant rainfall throughout June pushed the Mississippi River at Guttenberg into flood stage in June and continued into July. The river stage crested during the late evening on July 5th in moderate flood stage at 18.98 ft.
Flood Flood
Significant rainfall throughout June pushed the Mississippi River at Guttenberg into flood stage on June 26th. The river stage continued to rise through the end of the month while remaining in minor flood stage.
Flood Flood
Significant rainfall throughout June pushed the Mississippi River at McGregor into flood stage at 16.0ft on June 24th. The river stage continued to rise through the end of the month increasing from minor to moderate flood stage on June 28th.
Thunderstorm Wind Thunderstorm Wind
Trees and power lines were reported down.
Thunderstorm Wind Thunderstorm Wind
Reports of trees and power lines down across northern Clayton County were relayed by law enforcement.
Thunderstorm Wind Thunderstorm Wind
The public measured a wind gust of 66 mph in Monona.
Events by year, as a table
| Year | Events | Tornadoes |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 8 | 1 |
| 2025 | 11 | 0 |
| 2024 | 25 | 0 |
| 2023 | 22 | 1 |
| 2022 | 14 | 0 |
| 2021 | 12 | 0 |
| 2020 | 14 | 0 |
| 2019 | 39 | 1 |
| 2018 | 37 | 0 |
| 2017 | 54 | 1 |
| 2016 | 29 | 0 |
| 2015 | 16 | 0 |
| 2014 | 26 | 0 |
| 2013 | 29 | 1 |
| 2012 | 20 | 0 |
| 2011 | 19 | 0 |
| 2010 | 35 | 0 |
| 2009 | 23 | 0 |
| 2008 | 41 | 0 |
| 2007 | 30 | 1 |
| 2006 | 10 | 0 |
| 2005 | 8 | 0 |
| 2004 | 12 | 0 |
| 2003 | 9 | 0 |
| 2002 | 11 | 0 |
| 2001 | 17 | 1 |
| 2000 | 24 | 0 |
| 1999 | 17 | 0 |
| 1998 | 11 | 0 |
| 1997 | 18 | 0 |
| 1996 | 7 | 0 |
| 1995 | 5 | 0 |
| 1994 | 19 | 1 |
| 1992 | 7 | 2 |
| 1991 | 13 | 0 |
| 1990 | 1 | 1 |
| 1989 | 7 | 2 |
| 1988 | 1 | 1 |
| 1987 | 4 | 0 |
| 1986 | 3 | 0 |
| 1985 | 5 | 1 |
| 1984 | 2 | 0 |
| 1983 | 1 | 0 |
| 1979 | 3 | 0 |
| 1978 | 2 | 0 |
| 1977 | 1 | 0 |
| 1976 | 1 | 0 |
| 1975 | 3 | 0 |
| 1974 | 1 | 0 |
| 1971 | 2 | 0 |
| 1969 | 2 | 0 |
| 1965 | 1 | 1 |
| 1961 | 1 | 0 |
| 1959 | 1 | 0 |
| 1953 | 1 | 1 |
Search your address
See every tornado that passed within 25 miles of a place in Clayton County, measured to its path.
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