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Davis County, Iowa severe weather history spans 276 recorded events between 1962 and 2024. The dominant hazard is thunderstorm wind, accounting for 32.6% of all recorded events. It ranks #1,922 nationally and #92 in Iowa.
276
Recorded events
0
Direct deaths
0
Direct injuries
$34.5M
Property damage
The record
What the Davis County, Iowa severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Davis County, Iowa severe weather history averages 4.5 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2000s, with 92 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 37 events fall before 1990 and 239 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The costliest is tornado, with $29.4M 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 Davis County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thunderstorm Wind | 90 | 0 | $2.3M | 75 | 1963–2024 |
| Hail | 87 | 0 | $394K | 2.5 | 1962–2024 |
| Heavy Rain | 51 | 0 | $10K | 0 | 2008–2022 |
| Tornado | 20 | 0 | $29.4M | F4 | 1965–2024 |
| Flash Flood | 18 | 0 | $1.8M | 0 | 2000–2019 |
| Flood | 5 | 0 | $650K | 0 | 1998–2019 |
| Funnel Cloud | 3 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 1996–2016 |
| Lightning | 2 | 0 | $60K | 0 | 2006–2007 |
Decade by decade
Davis County, Iowa severe weather history by decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
Tornado tracks
Paths crossing this county
22 mapped tornado paths intersect this county: 16 touched down inside it and 6 crossed in from a neighbouring county. This comes from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
| Date | Scale | Deaths | Injuries | Path length | Origin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1967-01-24 | EF4 | 0 | 2 | 25.7 mi | Crossed in |
| 1999-04-08 | EF3 | 0 | 0 | 16.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1989-04-27 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 18.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1988-05-08 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 47.0 mi | Crossed in |
| 1988-05-08 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 71.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1980-06-02 | EF2 | 0 | 5 | 19.8 mi | Crossed in |
| 1965-09-20 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 10.3 mi | Touched down here |
| 1964-06-14 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 11.9 mi | Crossed in |
| 1961-04-23 | EF2 | 0 | 2 | 68.6 mi | Crossed in |
| 1955-05-26 | EF2 | 0 | 2 | 11.7 mi | Crossed in |
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
Emergency manager reported multiple secondary secondary roads remained under water or closed, a few culverts known to be damaged or destroyed, and one rural wood truss bridge lost in Davis County from the rainfall and subsequent overland and river flooding yesterday. The Fox River rose over 15 feet in 5 hours at Bloomfield. A rural truss wooden bridge was damaged.
A brief tornado occurred south of Floris from a developing weak storm. The tornado moved across a farmstead on the west side of Pecan Avenue producing high end EF0 damage to two metal buildings. The tornado lifted shortly afterwards.
Law enforcement reported water over road a few feet deep near the intersection of Jefferson St and West St in Bloomfield. The water was deep enough to have to tow a couple of vehicles out of the water. There were also a few county roads underwater in southern Davis county.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Relatively Low
FEMA NRI risk rating
9,157
Population (ACS)
$162K
Median home value
17
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 |
| Jul 31, 2015 | Severe Storm | SEVERE STORMS, TORNADOES, STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS, AND FLOODING | DR |
| Jul 2, 2013 | Severe Storm | SEVERE STORMS, TORNADOES, AND FLOODING | DR |
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many severe weather events have been recorded in Davis County, Iowa?
276 events are on record between 1962 and 2024, causing 0 direct deaths and $34.5M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Davis County?
Thunderstorm Wind, with 90 recorded events — 32.6% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Davis County?
22 mapped tornado paths intersect the county boundary; 16 of them touched down inside it. This is derived from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
How many federal disaster declarations cover Davis County?
17 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Davis County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Davis County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Davis County as relatively low risk, placing it in the 50 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Davis 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
- Dallas County 964
- Decatur County 311
- Crawford County 443
- Delaware County 465
- Clinton County 578
- Des Moines County 492
Cite this page
“Davis County, Iowa.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/iowa/davis-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.