Iowa tornado history

3,097 tornadoes in Iowa from 1950 to 2025, killing 101 people. Choose a county to see every track on a map.

Polk County70Scott County67Linn County66Story County66Webster County63Dallas County60Boone County58Woodbury County57Hamilton County56Pottawattamie County56Clinton County55Plymouth County52Sioux County51Buchanan County49Pocahontas County49Warren County49Benton County48Hardin County47Jasper County47Marion County47Tama County47Jones County46Crawford County45Delaware County45Johnson County45Lyon County45Cedar County44Cass County43Union County42Calhoun County41Howard County41Kossuth County41Taylor County41Black Hawk County40Cerro Gordo County40Page County40Wright County40Grundy County39Marshall County39Muscatine County39Clay County38Lee County38Madison County38Carroll County37Fremont County37Iowa County36O'Brien County36Dubuque County35Greene County35Harrison County35Adair County34Guthrie County33Keokuk County33Poweshiek County33Wayne County33Fayette County32Montgomery County32Osceola County31Shelby County31Butler County30Cherokee County30Chickasaw County30Monona County30Bremer County29Buena Vista County29Franklin County29Hancock County29Jackson County29Ringgold County29Adams County28Dickinson County28Mahaska County28Sac County28Van Buren County28Wapello County28Floyd County27Humboldt County27Winnebago County26Appanoose County25Mills County25Washington County25Winneshiek County25Worth County25Des Moines County24Davis County23Emmet County22Palo Alto County22Mitchell County21Clarke County20Decatur County20Henry County20Clayton County17Louisa County17Audubon County16Ida County16Monroe County15Allamakee County13Jefferson County13Lucas County13

By decade

’50’60’70’80’90’00’10’20

Deadliest tornadoes in Iowa

DateRatingPathWidthInjuredKilled
May 15, 1968F562.1 mi600 yd46213
May 25, 2008EF541 mi2,100 yd709
Sep 16, 1978F331.8 mi200 yd456
Mar 5, 2022EF470.6 mi900 yd56
Oct 14, 1966F59.7 mi1,000 yd1726
May 21, 2024EF440.6 mi1,600 yd355
May 15, 1968F513.1 mi500 yd1565
Jun 11, 2008EF313 mi440 yd484
Jun 28, 1979F414.9 mi33 yd263
Jun 7, 1984F4134 mi250 yd643