42
Recorded events
0
Direct deaths
6
Direct injuries
$1.8M
Property damage
Lightning in Polk County, Iowa: 42 recorded events between 1998 and 2024. The strongest on record measured 0. That places the county #64 nationally and #1 statewide for this hazard.
Decade by decade
Lightning in Polk County, Iowa: events per decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
The busiest decade for lightning in Polk County is the 2010s, when 20 of the county's 42 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 Polk County archive, lightning makes up 2.0% of all recorded severe weather across 9 hazard types. Nationally the county sits at #64 for this hazard and #1 within Iowa, putting it in the 97.3 percentile of all U.S. counties.
Seasonality
Events by month
Jun is the peak month for lightning in Polk County with 12 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 9, 2001 | JOHNSTON | 0 | 0 | 2 | $100K |
| Feb 26, 2009 | LOVINGTON | 0 | 0 | 1 | $2K |
| Mar 1, 2007 | DES MOINES | 0 | 0 | 1 | $0 |
| Jun 29, 2005 | JOHNSTON | 0 | 0 | 1 | $25K |
| Aug 27, 2004 | WEST DES MOINES | 0 | 0 | 1 | $0 |
Most recent
Latest recorded events
| Date | Location | Magnitude | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 15, 2024 | ELKHART | 0 | $20K |
| May 8, 2022 | DES MOINES | 0 | $400K |
| May 14, 2020 | GRIMES | 0 | $10K |
| Sep 19, 2019 | LOVINGTON | 0 | $5K |
| Aug 20, 2019 | GRIMES | 0 | $50K |
| Jun 23, 2019 | ORALABOR | 0 | $25K |
| May 17, 2019 | ASHAWA | 0 | $2K |
| Apr 29, 2019 | ASHAWA | 0 | $1K |
| Apr 29, 2019 | ASHAWA | 0 | $1K |
| Jul 1, 2018 | CAPITOL HGTS | 0 | $10K |
Other hazards here
More from Polk County
- Thunderstorm Wind 729
- Hail 670
- Heavy Rain 348
- Flood 150
- Flash Flood 118
- Tornado 68
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many lightning events are on record in Polk County, Iowa?
42 lightning events are recorded in Polk County between 1998 and 2024, causing 0 direct deaths.
What is the strongest lightning recorded in Polk County?
The strongest lightning on record in Polk County measured 0.
Where does the lightning data for Polk 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
“Lightning in Polk County, Iowa.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/iowa/polk-county/lightning/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.