268
Recorded events
0
Direct deaths
2
Direct injuries
$2.0M
Property damage
Thunderstorm Wind in Cedar County, Iowa: 268 recorded events between 1956 and 2026. The strongest on record measured 104. That places the county #587 nationally and #13 statewide for this hazard.
Decade by decade
Thunderstorm Wind in Cedar County, Iowa: events per decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
The busiest decade for thunderstorm wind in Cedar County is the 2010s, when 60 of the county's 268 recorded events were logged. Comparing decades is useful for spotting active periods, but the earliest years are thin because systematic reporting for this hazard began later.
Within the Cedar County archive, thunderstorm wind makes up 53.8% of all recorded severe weather across 9 hazard types. Nationally the county sits at #587 for this hazard and #13 within Iowa, putting it in the 81.3 percentile of all U.S. counties.
Seasonality
Events by month
Jul is the peak month for thunderstorm wind in Cedar County with 79 recorded events, while Jan is the quietest. Seasonality here is a property of the archive as much as the climate: reports cluster where population and spotter networks are densest.
Significant events
Deadliest on record
| Date | Location | Scale | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 18, 1995 | Clarence | 0 | 0 | 1 | $55K |
| Apr 18, 1995 | Clarence | 52 | 0 | 1 | $20K |
Most recent
Latest recorded events
| Date | Location | Magnitude | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 23, 2026 | TIPTON | 52 | $0 |
| Apr 17, 2026 | DURANT | 79 | $0 |
| Apr 17, 2026 | LIME CITY | 52 | $0 |
| Apr 2, 2026 | LOWDEN | 52 | $0 |
| Apr 2, 2026 | MATHEWS ARPT | 50 | $0 |
| Aug 18, 2025 | LOWDEN | 52 | $0 |
| Aug 15, 2025 | LOWDEN | 52 | $0 |
| Jul 30, 2025 | LOWDEN | 61 | $0 |
| Jul 30, 2025 | LOWDEN | 52 | $0 |
| Jul 29, 2025 | LOWDEN | 56 | $0 |
Other hazards here
More from Cedar County
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
A series of downbursts in a 3 mile wide path occurred from 4 miles west of Tipton to 4 miles northeast of Tipton. Winds were estimated at 70-78 knots (80-90 mph). Time is estimated based on radar. Newspapers reported trees down and a roof off of a barn 3 miles west of Tipton, and trees down 1.6 miles south southwest of Wald.At the Marge Schott farm on Jackson Avenue, a 70 foot silo was destroyed along with 3 sheds and several trees. A house was damaged and a livestock trailer was flipped over. A the Jeff Meier home on 220th Street, the end of an equipment building was blown out. At the Tom and Lori Schott farm just down the road on 220th Street, a livestock building had the roof peeled off. At the co-operative observer 4 miles northeast of Tipton, a barn door was blown off with 8-10 inch diameter limbs down in the yard.
The same line of storms produced a severe downburst in Clarence and immediately south. Winds with this downburst were estimated at 83-87 knots (95-100 mph).In Clarence, Hunwardsen Fabrication lost the roof and one entire wall of their building with the debris scattered across the parking lot to the west. South of town a grain bin and a gazebo were destroyed.
Storm entered Cedar County from Johnson County northwest of Downey. At the West Branch exit on Interstate 80 a loaded semi was blown over. Trees and power lines were downed in West Branch along with baseball sized hail 4 miles east of the town. A barn and outbuilding were destroyed just before Springdale on county route F44. Based on KDVN 88D velocity data, the last expected severe damage was done 4.6 miles southwest of Lowden. The co-operative observer in Lowden only reported a peak wind gust of 37 knots (43 mph) when the storm moved through. Estimated times (all CST) for the West Branch area are 2025 and 2042 for Tipton.
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many thunderstorm wind events are on record in Cedar County, Iowa?
268 thunderstorm wind events are recorded in Cedar County between 1956 and 2026, causing 0 direct deaths.
What is the strongest thunderstorm wind recorded in Cedar County?
The strongest thunderstorm wind on record in Cedar County measured 104.
Where does the thunderstorm wind data for Cedar County come from?
All events come from the NOAA/NCEI Storm Events Database, the federal public-domain archive of severe weather reports. Dates are UTC, damage is as reported and not inflation-adjusted, and the most recent entries may still be revised.
Cite this page
“Thunderstorm Wind in Cedar County, Iowa.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/iowa/cedar-county/thunderstorm-wind/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.