Severe Weather History


Iowa Lightning History: 366 Recorded Events

366

Recorded events

88

Counties affected

7

Direct deaths

$25.7M

Property damage

Iowa lightning history: 366 recorded events across 88 counties between 1996 and 2025.

Decade by decade

Iowa lightning history by decade

Iowa lightning history: recorded events per decade
Iowa lightning history: recorded events per decade

The 2000s are the busiest decade on record with 148 reported lightning events across Iowa. Earlier decades are thinner because systematic reporting for this hazard expanded over time, not because the weather was calmer.

County ranking

Counties with the most lightning events in Iowa

RankCountyEventsDeathsDamageSpan
#1Polk County420$1.8M1998–2024
#2Linn County152$203K1997–2019
#3Black Hawk County140$1.2M1998–2025
#4Scott County130$897K1997–2015
#5Story County130$1.2M1997–2021
#6Dallas County120$1.2M2007–2022
#7Johnson County100$1.1M2006–2015
#8Cerro Gordo County100$182K1997–2019
#9Des Moines County90$177K1996–2013
#10Mahaska County80$357K1996–2015
#11Marion County70$127K2004–2024
#12Cedar County70$163K2003–2012
#13Carroll County70$372K1996–2010
#14Clinton County60$24K1996–2006
#15Decatur County60$95K1996–2010
#16Warren County61$342K1996–2023
#17Van Buren County51$10.1M2002–2024
#18Appanoose County50$172K1996–2013
#19Buchanan County50$526K2001–2016
#20Howard County50$68K2003–2018
#21Winnebago County50$210K1997–2002
#22Jasper County50$69K2000–2010
#23Jefferson County40$120K1996–2010
#24Hardin County40$133K2000–2018
#25Palo Alto County41$315K1997–2009
Source: NOAA/NCEI Storm Events · ranked by recorded event count

Significant events

Deadliest lightning events in Iowa

DateCountyScaleDeathsInjuries
May 1, 2003Van Buren County—11
Aug 8, 2000Warren County—10
Sep 4, 2005Linn County—11
Jun 20, 2015Linn County—10
May 5, 2015Muscatine County—11
Jun 11, 2008Palo Alto County—10
May 3, 1996Pottawattamie County—11
Source: NOAA/NCEI Storm Events · dates UTC

All hazards in Iowa · Lightning across the U.S.