Poweshiek County tornado history

33 tornadoes touched Poweshiek County, Iowa between 1950 and 2025 — about 0.4 a year. The strongest was rated F3 (Sep 16, 1978). Tornadoes here killed 6 and injured 60 people.

33tornadoes since 1950

F3strongest rating

6killed · 60 injured

59 milongest path · 1988

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

By rating

(E)F09

(E)F111

(E)F26

(E)F34

(E)F40

(E)F50

unrated3

By month

JFMAMJJASOND

Peak month: May.

By decade

’50’60’70’80’90’00’10’20

Strongest tornadoes

Date	Rating	Path	Width	Injured	Killed
Sep 16, 1978	F3	31.8 mi	200 yd	45	6
Apr 23, 1965	F3	47.4 mi	10 yd	1	0
Apr 19, 1966	F3	27.1 mi	400 yd	4	0
Aug 12, 1956	F3	5.1 mi	200 yd	8	0
May 8, 1988	F2	59 mi	60 yd	0	0
Sep 30, 2007	EF2	21.9 mi	1,250 yd	0	0
Mar 5, 2022	EF2	17.3 mi	500 yd	0	0
Nov 11, 2015	EF2	6.6 mi	150 yd	0	0
Jun 29, 1969	F2	1 mi	250 yd	0	0
Jun 26, 1978	F2	0.7 mi	100 yd	1	0
Jun 6, 1971	F1	10.1 mi	200 yd	0	0
Jun 29, 1969	F1	8.2 mi	250 yd	0	0

Most recent tornadoes

Date	Rating	Path	Width	Injured
Mar 31, 2023	unrated	3.6 mi	60 yd	0
Mar 5, 2022	EF2	17.3 mi	500 yd	0
May 29, 2019	EF1	3.5 mi	50 yd	1
May 29, 2019	unrated	0.9 mi	30 yd	0
May 29, 2019	unrated	0.9 mi	30 yd	0
Oct 9, 2018	EF0	1.8 mi	40 yd	0
Oct 9, 2018	EF0	2.3 mi	30 yd	0
Nov 28, 2016	EF0	4.5 mi	40 yd	0
Nov 28, 2016	EF0	1.2 mi	30 yd	0
Nov 11, 2015	EF2	6.6 mi	150 yd	0
Apr 10, 2008	EF1	7.6 mi	50 yd	0
Apr 10, 2008	EF0	2.4 mi	25 yd	0

Deadliest: Sep 16, 1978, F3, 6 killed.

Nearby counties

Iowa County, IA36 Mahaska County, IA28 Tama County, IA47 Jasper County, IA47 Keokuk County, IA33 Marshall County, IA39 Benton County, IA48 Marion County, IA47

Questions

How many tornadoes has Poweshiek County, Iowa had?

33 tornadoes touched Poweshiek County, Iowa between 1950 and 2025 in the NOAA Storm Prediction Center database — about 0.4 per year.

What was the strongest tornado in Poweshiek County?

The strongest rating recorded was F3 on Sep 16, 1978, with a 31.8-mile path and 6 deaths.

When is tornado season in Poweshiek County?

Most of its tornadoes happened in May (7 of 33). 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).