45
Recorded events
1
Direct deaths
22
Direct injuries
$8.8M
Property damage
Tornado in Cedar County, Iowa: 45 recorded events between 1957 and 2025. The strongest on record measured F4. That places the county #479 nationally and #22 statewide for this hazard.
Decade by decade
Tornado in Cedar County, Iowa: events per decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
The busiest decade for tornado in Cedar County is the 1990s, when 15 of the county's 45 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, tornado makes up 9.0% of all recorded severe weather across 9 hazard types. Nationally the county sits at #479 for this hazard and #22 within Iowa, putting it in the 83.2 percentile of all U.S. counties.
Seasonality
Events by month
May is the peak month for tornado in Cedar County with 16 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.
Tornado tracks
Paths crossing this county
| Date | Scale | Path length | Max width | Origin |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1965-04-11 | EF4 | 91.5 mi | 200 yd | Touched down here |
| 1998-05-15 | EF3 | 47.0 mi | 400 yd | Crossed in |
| 2023-03-31 | EF2 | 19.6 mi | 200 yd | Touched down here |
| 2023-03-31 | EF2 | 16.4 mi | 250 yd | Touched down here |
| 1995-07-27 | EF2 | 7.5 mi | 100 yd | Touched down here |
| 1995-05-09 | EF2 | 7.0 mi | 100 yd | Touched down here |
| 1991-03-22 | EF2 | 14.0 mi | 80 yd | Crossed in |
| 1988-05-08 | EF2 | 7.0 mi | 90 yd | Touched down here |
| 1974-04-28 | EF2 | 2.3 mi | 100 yd | Touched down here |
| 1966-05-23 | EF2 | 4.9 mi | 350 yd | Touched down here |
Significant events
Deadliest on record
| Date | Location | Scale | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 11, 1965 | F4 | 1 | 0 | $2.5M | |
| Apr 29, 1974 | F2 | 0 | 16 | $250K | |
| Mar 31, 2023 | LIME CITY | EF2 | 0 | 2 | $0 |
| May 15, 1998 | DOWNEY | F3 | 0 | 2 | $2K |
| Jul 2, 1983 | F1 | 0 | 1 | $250K | |
| Jun 7, 1961 | F2 | 0 | 1 | $25K |
Most recent
Latest recorded events
| Date | Location | Magnitude | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mar 15, 2025 | DURANT | EF0 | $0 |
| May 24, 2024 | LIME CITY | EF1 | $0 |
| May 24, 2024 | MECHANICSVILLE | EFU | $0 |
| May 24, 2024 | DOWNEY | EF1 | $0 |
| Mar 31, 2023 | LIME CITY | EF2 | $0 |
| Mar 31, 2023 | CEDAR VLY | EF1 | $0 |
| Mar 31, 2023 | MATHEWS ARPT | EF2 | $0 |
| Mar 31, 2023 | BILLICK FLD ARPT | EF1 | $0 |
| May 23, 2020 | MECHANICSVILLE | EF1 | $0 |
| May 23, 2020 | CEDAR BLUFF | EF1 | $0 |
Other hazards here
More from Cedar County
- Thunderstorm Wind 268
- Hail 140
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
Tornado was rated EF-1 with peak winds of 110 MPH, a path length of 5.33 miles and max width 100 yards. A tornado touched down southwest of Bennett and tracked northeast to near Wheatland. A farm just north of Bennett sustained the greatest damage where all of the outbuildings and most of the trees were destroyed. Elsewhere along the path, damage occurred to trees, outbuildings, and power lines. This tornado continued into Clinton County.
A NWS storm survey team determined a brief tornado touched down and lofted two empty grain bins and damaged some corn. Max winds are estimated near 80 mph. The maximum width was 20 yards and the path length was .05 miles.
An NWS Storm Survey rated this as an EF-0 tornado. The peak wind speeds were estimated to be 70 MPH. This tornado touched down in a farm field and no damage was found. The tornado location is based on video evidence provided to us by a storm spotter.
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many tornado events are on record in Cedar County, Iowa?
45 tornado events are recorded in Cedar County between 1957 and 2025, causing 1 direct deaths.
What is the strongest tornado recorded in Cedar County?
The strongest tornado on record in Cedar County measured F4.
Where does the tornado 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
“Tornado in Cedar County, Iowa.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/iowa/cedar-county/tornado/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.