Black Hawk County tornado history

40 tornadoes touched Black Hawk County, Iowa between 1950 and 2025 — about 0.5 a year. The strongest was rated EF5 (May 25, 2008). Tornadoes here killed 12 and injured 146 people.

40tornadoes since 1950

EF5strongest rating

12killed · 146 injured

41 milongest path · 2008

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

By rating

(E)F018

(E)F18

(E)F27

(E)F33

(E)F41

(E)F51

unrated2

By month

JFMAMJJASOND

Peak month: June.

By decade

’50’60’70’80’90’00’10’20

Strongest tornadoes

Date	Rating	Path	Width	Injured	Killed
May 25, 2008	EF5	41 mi	2,100 yd	70	9
Aug 26, 1965	F4	4.7 mi	200 yd	17	1
Apr 16, 1960	F3	29.8 mi	800 yd	5	1
May 11, 2000	F3	18.6 mi	210 yd	25	1
Nov 9, 1975	F3	39.4 mi	10 yd	0	0
Jun 13, 1976	F2	14 mi	100 yd	0	0
May 7, 1964	F2	7.1 mi	200 yd	27	0
Jun 12, 1976	F2	6.9 mi	100 yd	2	0
May 11, 2000	F2	5 mi	150 yd	0	0
May 11, 2000	F2	3.6 mi	120 yd	0	0
May 31, 1971	F2	1 mi	200 yd	0	0
Jul 18, 1965	F2	0.5 mi	50 yd	0	0

Most recent tornadoes

Date	Rating	Path	Width	Injured	Killed
Mar 28, 2020	unrated	2.3 mi	40 yd	0	0
Mar 28, 2020	EF0	2.1 mi	115 yd	0	0
Mar 28, 2020	unrated	0.3 mi	20 yd	0	0
Oct 9, 2018	EF0	1.9 mi	50 yd	0	0
Aug 31, 2014	EF0	2.1 mi	130 yd	0	0
Aug 31, 2014	EF0	3.2 mi	80 yd	0	0
May 25, 2008	EF5	41 mi	2,100 yd	70	9
Jun 21, 2007	EF0	0.1 mi	30 yd	0	0
May 21, 2004	F0	0.3 mi	30 yd	0	0
Apr 18, 2002	F0	0.3 mi	30 yd	0	0
Jun 1, 2001	F0	0.2 mi	30 yd	0	0
Jun 1, 2001	F0	0.2 mi	30 yd	0	0

Deadliest: May 25, 2008, EF5, 9 killed.

Nearby counties

Bremer County, IA29 Buchanan County, IA49 Grundy County, IA39 Benton County, IA48 Tama County, IA47 Butler County, IA30 Fayette County, IA32 Chickasaw County, IA30

Questions

How many tornadoes has Black Hawk County, Iowa had?

40 tornadoes touched Black Hawk County, Iowa between 1950 and 2025 in the NOAA Storm Prediction Center database — about 0.5 per year.

What was the strongest tornado in Black Hawk County?

The strongest rating recorded was EF5 on May 25, 2008, with a 41-mile path and 9 deaths.

When is tornado season in Black Hawk County?

Most of its tornadoes happened in June (13 of 40). 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).