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Audubon County, Iowa severe weather history spans 269 recorded events between 1959 and 2025. The dominant hazard is hail, accounting for 43.5% of all recorded events. It ranks #1,971 nationally and #94 in Iowa.
269
Recorded events
0
Direct deaths
1
Direct injuries
$2.8M
Property damage
The record
What the Audubon County, Iowa severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Audubon County, Iowa severe weather history averages 4.1 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2000s, with 89 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 28 events fall before 1990 and 241 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The costliest is thunderstorm wind, with $953K in reported property damage. In total, 6 distinct hazard types appear in this county archive, each listed with its own dated record below.
By hazard type
Every hazard type recorded in Audubon County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hail | 117 | 0 | $316K | 3 | 1964–2025 |
| Thunderstorm Wind | 96 | 0 | $953K | 76 | 1960–2025 |
| Heavy Rain | 23 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2009–2024 |
| Tornado | 14 | 0 | $221K | F2 | 1959–2024 |
| Flash Flood | 11 | 0 | $500K | 0 | 2002–2017 |
| Flood | 8 | 0 | $790K | 0 | 1996–2019 |
Decade by decade
Audubon County, Iowa severe weather history by decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
Tornado tracks
Paths crossing this county
16 mapped tornado paths intersect this county: 12 touched down inside it and 4 crossed in from a neighbouring county. This comes from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
| Date | Scale | Deaths | Injuries | Path length | Origin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021-12-15 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 27.1 mi | Crossed in |
| 1976-06-13 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 20.0 mi | Crossed in |
| 1959-05-04 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 4.1 mi | Touched down here |
| 1955-05-06 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 15.5 mi | Crossed in |
| 2021-12-15 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 11.4 mi | Crossed in |
| 1999-07-02 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 0.5 mi | Touched down here |
| 1983-05-01 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 2.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1977-09-23 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 1.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1968-05-15 | EF1 | 0 | 1 | 2.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 2024-05-21 | EF0 | 0 | 0 | 7.2 mi | Touched down here |
Significant events
Deadliest events on record in Audubon County
| Date | Type | Location | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 15, 1968 | Tornado | 0 | 1 | $25K |
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
Tornado moved into Audubon county from Cass county. This tornado remained on the ground in rural areas of southeastern Audubon county. Damage was primarily to trees with one garage being destroyed east of Exira producing an EF1 rating.
This tornado continued into Audubon county from Cass county. The tornado remains in rural portions of southern and central Audubon county. Most damage was to farm outbuildings, trees and power poles with EF1 the highest damage rating observed.
Water covering the County Highway N14 bridge that crosses Indian Creek. About one half mile of the road was under water. The worst area of flooding was 5 miles either side of a line from Kimballton to Audubon. A log was left on a bridge over the creek after the water had receded. Multiple locations required gravel grading and debris removal off of county roads.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Very Low
FEMA NRI risk rating
5,599
Population (ACS)
$122K
Median home value
22
Federal declarations
| Declared | Incident | Title | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| Feb 23, 2022 | Severe Storm | SEVERE STORMS, STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS, AND TORNADOES | DR |
| Mar 23, 2020 | Biological | COVID-19 PANDEMIC | DR |
| Mar 13, 2020 | Biological | COVID-19 | EM |
| Mar 23, 2019 | Flood | SEVERE STORMS AND FLOODING | DR |
| Aug 5, 2014 | Severe Storm | SEVERE STORMS, TORNADOES, STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS, AND FLOODING | DR |
| Jul 31, 2013 | Severe Storm | SEVERE STORMS, TORNADOES, AND FLOODING | DR |
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many severe weather events have been recorded in Audubon County, Iowa?
269 events are on record between 1959 and 2025, causing 0 direct deaths and $2.8M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Audubon County?
Hail, with 117 recorded events — 43.5% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Audubon County?
16 mapped tornado paths intersect the county boundary; 12 of them touched down inside it. This is derived from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
How many federal disaster declarations cover Audubon County?
22 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Audubon County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Audubon County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Audubon County as very low risk, placing it in the 39 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Audubon County, Iowa severe weather history data come from?
Every figure is drawn from United States federal public-domain records: NOAA/NCEI Storm Events for the event archive, NOAA SPC SVRGIS for mapped tornado paths, FEMA for disaster declarations and risk ratings, and the U.S. Census for population context. Dates are shown in UTC and recent entries may still be revised by NOAA.
Nearby
Neighbouring counties
- Appanoose County 408
- Benton County 752
- Allamakee County 308
- Black Hawk County 861
- Adams County 273
- Boone County 593
Cite this page
“Audubon County, Iowa.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/iowa/audubon-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.