Pocahontas County tornado history

49 tornadoes touched Pocahontas County, Iowa between 1950 and 2025 — about 0.6 a year. The strongest was rated F4 (Jun 28, 1979). Tornadoes here killed 3 and injured 44 people.

49tornadoes since 1950

F4strongest rating

3killed · 44 injured

49.2 milongest path · 1953

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

By rating

(E)F011

(E)F114

(E)F29

(E)F32

(E)F43

(E)F50

unrated10

By month

JFMAMJJASOND

Peak month: May.

By decade

’50’60’70’80’90’00’10’20

Strongest tornadoes

Date	Rating	Path	Width	Injured	Killed
Jun 28, 1979	F4	14.9 mi	33 yd	26	3
May 27, 1995	F4	36 mi	400 yd	0	0
Apr 9, 2011	EF4	3.2 mi	587 yd	0	0
Jun 7, 1953	F3	30.7 mi	200 yd	0	0
Apr 9, 2011	EF3	29.4 mi	2,640 yd	0	0
Jun 7, 1953	F2	49.2 mi	833 yd	0	0
Jun 7, 1984	F2	25 mi	100 yd	2	0
Apr 26, 1984	F2	22 mi	200 yd	0	0
Jun 19, 1990	F2	16 mi	77 yd	0	0
Jun 29, 1993	F2	15 mi	70 yd	0	0
May 21, 2004	F2	12.5 mi	880 yd	15	0
Jun 7, 1984	F2	8 mi	100 yd	0	0

Most recent tornadoes

Date	Rating	Path	Width	Injured
May 31, 2024	unrated	0.4 mi	30 yd	0
Apr 16, 2024	EF0	1.7 mi	75 yd	0
Apr 16, 2024	unrated	1.4 mi	75 yd	0
Apr 16, 2024	EF0	0.6 mi	40 yd	0
Jun 24, 2023	EF0	2.8 mi	80 yd	0
May 13, 2023	unrated	1.2 mi	30 yd	0
May 13, 2023	EF0	1.4 mi	50 yd	0
May 13, 2023	unrated	0.5 mi	40 yd	0
May 13, 2023	unrated	0.5 mi	30 yd	0
May 13, 2023	unrated	0.6 mi	30 yd	0
Apr 12, 2022	EF2	7.2 mi	450 yd	1
Dec 15, 2021	unrated	1 mi	40 yd	0

Deadliest: Jun 28, 1979, F4, 3 killed.

Nearby counties

Buena Vista County, IA29 Palo Alto County, IA22 Calhoun County, IA41 Humboldt County, IA27 Sac County, IA28 Webster County, IA63 Clay County, IA38 Kossuth County, IA41

Questions

How many tornadoes has Pocahontas County, Iowa had?

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

What was the strongest tornado in Pocahontas County?

The strongest rating recorded was F4 on Jun 28, 1979, with a 14.9-mile path and 3 deaths.

When is tornado season in Pocahontas County?

Most of its tornadoes happened in May (16 of 49). 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).