390
Recorded events
0
Direct deaths
7
Direct injuries
$5.9M
Property damage
Thunderstorm Wind in Story County, Iowa: 390 recorded events between 1968 and 2025. The strongest on record measured 87. That places the county #230 nationally and #4 statewide for this hazard.
Decade by decade
Thunderstorm Wind in Story County, Iowa: events per decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
The busiest decade for thunderstorm wind in Story County is the 2000s, when 162 of the county's 390 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 Story County archive, thunderstorm wind makes up 35.5% of all recorded severe weather across 8 hazard types. Nationally the county sits at #230 for this hazard and #4 within Iowa, putting it in the 92.7 percentile of all U.S. counties.
Seasonality
Events by month
Jun is the peak month for thunderstorm wind in Story County with 109 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 15, 1994 | Huxley | 85 | 0 | 2 | $500K |
| Jun 21, 2005 | NEVADA | 50 | 0 | 1 | $10K |
| Aug 26, 2003 | STORY CITY | 50 | 0 | 1 | $37K |
| Sep 7, 2001 | NEVADA | 57 | 0 | 1 | $10K |
| Sep 6, 2001 | SLATER | 80 | 0 | 1 | $75K |
| Apr 8, 1999 | STORY CITY | 65 | 0 | 1 | $40K |
Most recent
Latest recorded events
| Date | Location | Magnitude | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 23, 2025 | AMES | 50 | $0 |
| Jul 19, 2025 | IOWA CENTER | 51 | $0 |
| Jul 19, 2025 | NEVADA | 50 | $0 |
| Jul 19, 2025 | NEVADA | 52 | $0 |
| Jul 19, 2025 | GILBERT | 62 | $0 |
| Apr 29, 2025 | NEVADA | 50 | $0 |
| Apr 29, 2025 | MC CALLSBURG | 51 | $0 |
| Apr 29, 2025 | AMES ARPT | 54 | $0 |
| Jul 7, 2024 | ZEARING | 55 | $0 |
| Jun 19, 2024 | ONTARIO | 50 | $0 |
Other hazards here
More from Story County
- Hail 325
- Heavy Rain 174
- Tornado 64
- Flash Flood 64
- Flood 53
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
Story County Emergency Manager reports widespread significant tree damage in and around Ames. Some trees uprooted and others snapped off. Empty grain bins and outbuildings damaged across the county. A tree fell on a shed at Iowa State University.
Damage report within two blocks of Bloomington Rd. and Grand Ave. Shingles off of house roofs, privacy fences down, apartment buildings lost partial balcony, traffic light pole bent over, and trees of one to two foot diameter snapped at bases.
Three to four inch diameter tree down at the intersection of 8th and H. Crews working on it at the time. Other small branches were down and a trash can lid was blown off of a concrete bin. Five to six inch tree snapped at the East Park.
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many thunderstorm wind events are on record in Story County, Iowa?
390 thunderstorm wind events are recorded in Story County between 1968 and 2025, causing 0 direct deaths.
What is the strongest thunderstorm wind recorded in Story County?
The strongest thunderstorm wind on record in Story County measured 87.
Where does the thunderstorm wind data for Story 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 Story County, Iowa.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/iowa/story-county/thunderstorm-wind/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.