Bremer County, Iowa severe weather history spans 393 recorded events between 1956 and 2025. The dominant hazard is thunderstorm wind, accounting for 38.4% of all recorded events. It ranks #1,280 nationally and #54 in Iowa.
393
Recorded events
0
Direct deaths
12
Direct injuries
$15.8M
Property damage
The record
What the Bremer County, Iowa severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Bremer County, Iowa severe weather history averages 5.7 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2010s, with 159 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 56 events fall before 1990 and 337 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The costliest is tornado, with $7.5M in reported property damage. In total, 8 distinct hazard types appear in this county archive, each listed with its own dated record below.
By hazard type
Every hazard type recorded in Bremer County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thunderstorm Wind | 151 | 0 | $3.3M | 90 | 1956–2025 |
| Hail | 128 | 0 | $642K | 2.75 | 1960–2025 |
| Heavy Rain | 31 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2008–2024 |
| Tornado | 29 | 0 | $7.5M | F4 | 1961–2021 |
| Flash Flood | 24 | 0 | $2.8M | 0 | 1999–2020 |
| Flood | 21 | 0 | $1.6M | 0 | 1998–2024 |
| Funnel Cloud | 5 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2011–2023 |
| Lightning | 4 | 0 | $20K | 0 | 1997–2010 |
Decade by decade
Bremer County, Iowa severe weather history by decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
Tornado tracks
Paths crossing this county
31 mapped tornado paths intersect this county: 24 touched down inside it and 7 crossed in from a neighbouring county. This comes from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
| Date | Scale | Deaths | Injuries | Path length | Origin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1961-09-01 | EF4 | 0 | 7 | 26.6 mi | Crossed in |
| 1975-11-09 | EF3 | 0 | 0 | 39.4 mi | Crossed in |
| 2021-07-14 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 12.9 mi | Crossed in |
| 2001-09-06 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 11.5 mi | Crossed in |
| 1998-06-27 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 25.5 mi | Crossed in |
| 1981-04-10 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 0.8 mi | Touched down here |
| 1977-07-16 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 1.9 mi | Touched down here |
| 1971-07-12 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 0.1 mi | Touched down here |
| 1970-09-09 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 2.3 mi | Touched down here |
| 1966-04-19 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 4.6 mi | Touched down here |
Significant events
Deadliest events on record in Bremer County
| Date | Type | Location | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 20, 2019 | Thunderstorm Wind | WAVERLY | 0 | 9 | $20K |
| Jul 20, 2019 | Thunderstorm Wind | SUMNER | 0 | 2 | $2K |
| May 8, 1988 | Thunderstorm Wind | 0 | 1 | $0 |
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
The tornado moved into Bremer county from Butler county. The tornado impacted a couple of acreages just east of the county line producing EF0 and EF1 damage before weakening and becoming an intermittent funnel. The tornado destroyed 2 barns just north of the 4th street SW exit off of Highway 218. It then crossed the Cedar River just southwest Waverly doing damage to houses on both sides of the river, mostly EF0 and EF1 damage. After crossing Hilton Avenue, it intensified and produced EF2 damage with extensive tree damage along with toppling a high voltage power line. The tornado continued farther east and slowly weakened, staying mostly in open rural land. The tornado eventually lifted to the northwest of Denver.
Water covered most secondary roads in Bremer County, but was receding. Numerous flooded basements across the county, but the worst hit were in the Denver and Readlyn areas. The sewer system was threatened in Readlyn and Denver pumps were running to aid the overtaxed sewer system.
Narrow but strong area of wind damage in east central Bremer County. Worst damage was on a farmstead (point used for this event). A barn was flattened, multiple trees were snapped, and several empty grain bins were thrown into the trees.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Very Low
FEMA NRI risk rating
25,204
Population (ACS)
$220K
Median home value
17
Federal declarations
| Declared | Incident | Title | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| 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 27, 2017 | Severe Storm | SEVERE STORMS, TORNADOES, STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS, AND FLOODING | DR |
| Oct 31, 2016 | Flood | SEVERE STORMS AND FLOODING | DR |
| May 27, 2008 | Severe Storm | SEVERE STORMS, TORNADOES, AND FLOODING | DR |
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many severe weather events have been recorded in Bremer County, Iowa?
393 events are on record between 1956 and 2025, causing 0 direct deaths and $15.8M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Bremer County?
Thunderstorm Wind, with 151 recorded events — 38.4% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Bremer County?
31 mapped tornado paths intersect the county boundary; 24 of them touched down inside it. This is derived from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
How many federal disaster declarations cover Bremer County?
17 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Bremer County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Bremer County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Bremer County as very low risk, placing it in the 25 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Bremer 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
- Boone County 593
- Buchanan County 598
- Black Hawk County 861
- Buena Vista County 378
- Benton County 752
- Butler County 509
Cite this page
“Bremer County, Iowa.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/iowa/bremer-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.