Benton County tornado history

48 tornadoes touched Benton County, Iowa between 1950 and 2025 — about 0.6 a year. The strongest was rated F4 (Aug 26, 1965). Tornadoes here killed 2 and injured 42 people.

48tornadoes since 1950

F4strongest rating

2killed · 42 injured

87.7 milongest path · 1961

(E)F0(E)F1(E)F2(E)F3(E)F4(E)F5· dots = start point only

By rating

(E)F019

(E)F112

(E)F26

(E)F34

(E)F41

(E)F50

unrated6

By month

JFMAMJJASOND

Peak month: July.

By decade

’50’60’70’80’90’00’10’20

Strongest tornadoes

Date	Rating	Path	Width	Injured	Killed
Aug 26, 1965	F4	4.7 mi	200 yd	17	1
Apr 23, 1961	F3	87.7 mi	800 yd	12	1
Apr 19, 1966	F3	27.1 mi	400 yd	4	0
May 18, 1971	F3	4.3 mi	300 yd	0	0
May 18, 1971	F3	4.3 mi	200 yd	0	0
Apr 30, 1954	F2	65.8 mi	200 yd	0	0
Mar 31, 2023	EF2	4.9 mi	50 yd	0	0
Jul 17, 2016	EF2	4 mi	75 yd	4	0
Apr 26, 1956	F2	2.3 mi	440 yd	0	0
Mar 31, 2023	EF2	1.7 mi	50 yd	0	0
Jul 17, 2016	EF2	1.6 mi	100 yd	5	0
Mar 5, 2022	EF1	14 mi	400 yd	0	0

Most recent tornadoes

Date	Rating	Path	Width
Jul 11, 2025	EF1	3.8 mi	20 yd
Jul 11, 2025	EF1	4.1 mi	250 yd
Sep 26, 2023	unrated	0.1 mi	20 yd
Sep 22, 2023	unrated	0.3 mi	20 yd
Mar 31, 2023	EF2	1.7 mi	50 yd
Mar 31, 2023	EF2	4.9 mi	50 yd
Mar 31, 2023	unrated	1.4 mi	10 yd
Mar 5, 2022	EF1	14 mi	400 yd
Jul 14, 2021	EF1	5.7 mi	590 yd
Jul 14, 2021	unrated	0.1 mi	10 yd
Jul 14, 2021	unrated	0.1 mi	10 yd
Jul 14, 2021	unrated	0.1 mi	10 yd

Deadliest: Apr 23, 1961, F3, 1 killed.

Nearby counties

Linn County, IA66 Tama County, IA47 Iowa County, IA36 Buchanan County, IA49 Black Hawk County, IA40 Poweshiek County, IA33 Johnson County, IA45 Grundy County, IA39

Questions

How many tornadoes has Benton County, Iowa had?

48 tornadoes touched Benton County, Iowa between 1950 and 2025 in the NOAA Storm Prediction Center database — about 0.6 per year.

What was the strongest tornado in Benton County?

The strongest rating recorded was F4 on Aug 26, 1965, with a 4.7-mile path and 1 deaths.

When is tornado season in Benton County?

Most of its tornadoes happened in July (12 of 48). Tornadoes can occur in any month, so keep alerts on year-round.

Right now: live tornado warnings map · alerts for your location. Dates link to that day’s full storm reports where available (2004 onward).