Clay County, Iowa severe weather history spans 663 recorded events between 1954 and 2026. The dominant hazard is hail, accounting for 37.7% of all recorded events. It ranks #451 nationally and #15 in Iowa.
663
Recorded events
1
Direct deaths
1
Direct injuries
$35.8M
Property damage
The record
What the Clay County, Iowa severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Clay County, Iowa severe weather history averages 9.2 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2010s, with 219 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 86 events fall before 1990 and 577 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The deadliest hazard in the Clay County, Iowa record is flood, responsible for 1 direct deaths. The costliest is flood, with $27.1M 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 Clay County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hail | 250 | 0 | $1.7M | 4.25 | 1957–2026 |
| Thunderstorm Wind | 188 | 0 | $5.1M | 91 | 1960–2026 |
| Flood | 165 | 1 | $27.1M | 0 | 2006–2024 |
| Tornado | 38 | 0 | $2.0M | F3 | 1954–2026 |
| Flash Flood | 18 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 1999–2018 |
| Heavy Rain | 2 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2016–2016 |
| Lightning | 1 | 0 | $10K | 0 | 2001–2001 |
| Funnel Cloud | 1 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2019–2019 |
Decade by decade
Clay County, Iowa severe weather history by decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
Tornado tracks
Paths crossing this county
40 mapped tornado paths intersect this county: 38 touched down inside it and 2 crossed in from a neighbouring county. This comes from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
| Date | Scale | Deaths | Injuries | Path length | Origin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2004-06-11 | EF3 | 0 | 0 | 6.1 mi | Crossed in |
| 1980-09-20 | EF3 | 0 | 0 | 1.5 mi | Touched down here |
| 1971-10-01 | EF3 | 0 | 0 | 11.2 mi | Crossed in |
| 2008-06-11 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 13.1 mi | Touched down here |
| 2004-06-11 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 5.5 mi | Touched down here |
| 1994-06-12 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 13.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1984-06-07 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 2.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1975-06-04 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 0.1 mi | Touched down here |
| 1959-05-28 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 1.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1954-04-26 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 8.4 mi | Touched down here |
Significant events
Deadliest events on record in Clay County
| Date | Type | Location | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 21, 2024 | Flood | PETERSON | 1 | 0 | $25.6M |
| May 6, 2008 | Thunderstorm Wind | ROSSIE | 0 | 1 | $10K |
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
Persistent heavy rains caused moderate to major flooding of the Little Sioux River. Farmland, other lowlands including parks, and several roads near the river were flooded, including in the city of Spencer. Some homes were flooded, mainly in basements. The river crested at 5.18 feet above flood stage at Spencer on June 20th.
Thunderstorm winds caused widespread tree, power pole, and power line damage along a path around 20 miles long and roughly 5 miles wide. Numerous trees were blown down, some blocking roads, forcing law enforcement to close all roads leading to Everly. Damage to structures was also reported, including shingles blown off roofs, siding damaged, and several small outbuildings and other rural structures destroyed or heavily damaged. Power outages resulted in Everly and in several rural areas. Besides Everly and Webb, the communities of Greenville and Rossie were also affected. The winds also contributed to damage caused by accompanying large hail, and blew the hail into drifts. The amount of crop damage was not known.
Large hail fell in an area around 20 miles long and 3 to 5 miles wide. The hail was quarter to golf ball size over most of the area but reached baseball size at Everly. The hail, driven by accompanying damaging winds, broke windows in buildings and vehicles, dented vehicles, and damaged roofs and siding on homes and other buildings. Besides Everly and Webb, the communities of Greenville and Rossie were also affected. The hail covered the ground over much of the area, and was blown into drifts as high as 3 feet. Corn and soybean crops were heavily damaged, with the greater damage to soybean crops. The amount of crop damage was not known.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Very Low
FEMA NRI risk rating
16,461
Population (ACS)
$179K
Median home value
21
Federal declarations
| Declared | Incident | Title | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 24, 2024 | Severe Storm | SEVERE STORMS, FLOODING, STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS, AND TORNADOES | DR |
| May 24, 2024 | Severe Storm | SEVERE STORMS, TORNADOES, AND FLOODING | 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 20, 2018 | Severe Storm | SEVERE STORMS, TORNADOES, STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS, AND FLOODING | DR |
Within the county
Most affected places
- Spencer 232
- Everly 175
- Fostoria 169
- Dickens 104
- Gillett Grove 100
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many severe weather events have been recorded in Clay County, Iowa?
663 events are on record between 1954 and 2026, causing 1 direct deaths and $35.8M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Clay County?
Hail, with 250 recorded events — 37.7% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Clay County?
40 mapped tornado paths intersect the county boundary; 38 of them touched down inside it. This is derived from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
How many federal disaster declarations cover Clay County?
21 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Clay County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Clay County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Clay County as very low risk, placing it in the 36 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Clay 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
- Clarke County 355
- Clayton County 535
- Chickasaw County 316
- Clinton County 578
- Cherokee County 381
- Crawford County 443
Cite this page
“Clay County, Iowa.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/iowa/clay-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.