Clay County tornado history

38 tornadoes touched Clay County, Iowa between 1950 and 2025 — about 0.5 a year. The strongest was rated F3 (Oct 1, 1971).

38tornadoes since 1950
F3strongest rating
0killed · 0 injured
13.1 milongest path · 2008
(E)F0(E)F1(E)F2(E)F3(E)F4(E)F5· dots = start point only

By rating

(E)F016
(E)F113
(E)F26
(E)F33
(E)F40
(E)F50

By month

JFMAMJJASOND

Peak month: June.

By decade

’50’60’70’80’90’00’10’20

Strongest tornadoes

DateRatingPathWidthInjuredKilled
Oct 1, 1971F311.2 mi10 yd00
Jun 11, 2004F36.1 mi400 yd00
Sep 20, 1980F31.5 mi300 yd00
Jun 11, 2008EF213.1 mi100 yd00
Apr 26, 1954F28.4 mi10 yd00
Jun 11, 2004F25.5 mi200 yd00
Jun 7, 1984F22 mi77 yd00
May 28, 1959F21 mi150 yd00
Jun 4, 1975F20.1 mi10 yd00
Mar 16, 1963F14.5 mi10 yd00
Aug 22, 1954F12.5 mi200 yd00
Jun 11, 2004F12 mi100 yd00

Most recent tornadoes

DateRatingPathWidthInjuredKilled
Jun 19, 2014EF00.1 mi50 yd00
Jun 18, 2014EF00.2 mi50 yd00
Oct 4, 2013EF00.7 mi100 yd00
May 1, 2012EF02.6 mi50 yd00
Apr 21, 2012EF01.7 mi25 yd00
Apr 21, 2012EF00.5 mi50 yd00
May 8, 2009EF00.3 mi50 yd00
Jun 11, 2008EF213.1 mi100 yd00
Jun 11, 2008EF00.4 mi50 yd00
Jun 11, 2008EF00.4 mi50 yd00
Jul 26, 2006F00.1 mi50 yd00
Jul 26, 2006F00.5 mi50 yd00

Nearby counties

Dickinson County, IA28Buena Vista County, IA29O'Brien County, IA36Palo Alto County, IA22Emmet County, IA22Osceola County, IA31Pocahontas County, IA49Cherokee County, IA30

Questions

How many tornadoes has Clay County, Iowa had?

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

What was the strongest tornado in Clay County?

The strongest rating recorded was F3 on Oct 1, 1971, with a 11.2-mile path.

When is tornado season in Clay County?

Most of its tornadoes happened in June (17 of 38). 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).