Franklin County, Iowa severe weather history spans 366 recorded events between 1959 and 2025. The dominant hazard is thunderstorm wind, accounting for 38.8% of all recorded events. It ranks #1,400 nationally and #62 in Iowa.
366
Recorded events
0
Direct deaths
0
Direct injuries
$33.2M
Property damage
The record
What the Franklin County, Iowa severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Franklin County, Iowa severe weather history averages 5.5 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2010s, with 137 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 43 events fall before 1990 and 323 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The costliest is flash flood, with $26.1M in reported property damage. In total, 7 distinct hazard types appear in this county archive, each listed with its own dated record below.
By hazard type
Every hazard type recorded in Franklin County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thunderstorm Wind | 142 | 0 | $2.2M | 91 | 1961–2025 |
| Hail | 124 | 0 | $322K | 3 | 1961–2025 |
| Tornado | 30 | 0 | $4.0M | F5 | 1959–2023 |
| Flash Flood | 26 | 0 | $26.1M | 0 | 1997–2019 |
| Heavy Rain | 18 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2013–2020 |
| Funnel Cloud | 14 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2010–2025 |
| Flood | 12 | 0 | $495K | 0 | 1998–2024 |
Decade by decade
Franklin County, Iowa severe weather history by decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
Tornado tracks
Paths crossing this county
29 mapped tornado paths intersect this county: 23 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1968-05-15 | EF5 | 13 | 462 | 62.1 mi | Touched down here |
| 1953-05-20 | EF3 | 1 | 0 | 116.1 mi | Crossed in |
| 1990-06-28 | EF3 | 0 | 0 | 9.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 2021-12-15 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 16.7 mi | Crossed in |
| 2021-12-15 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 7.5 mi | Touched down here |
| 2013-06-12 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 5.2 mi | Touched down here |
| 1959-05-10 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 6.5 mi | Touched down here |
| 2023-07-28 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 2.8 mi | Touched down here |
| 2023-07-28 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 1.8 mi | Touched down here |
| 2021-12-15 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 13.0 mi | Crossed in |
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
Swath of wind damage that began in far NE Wright County broadened and strengthened as it entered NW Franklin County. An EF1 tornado was embedded within this wind damage. Wind gusts of 70-80 mph were found in a 1 to 2 mile wide and 4 to 5 mile long corridor, with locally higher gusts over 100 mph. One house lost half of its roof and multiple outbuildings were destroyed. One hog confinement building disintegrated–its remnants scattered for over 2 miles to the south. Damage point is at the house that lost its roof. Hog building was 1.5 miles SE of this point.
This tornado began a few miles north of Geneva and moved northeast producing plenty of tree damage as well as extensive outbuilding damage on two farmsteads. Additional damage to a home with missing roofing and siding occurred along 170th Street west of Yarrow Avenue. The tornado continue producing tree and power pole damage to the northeast before lifting on the north side of 190th Street near the West Fork Wildlife Area.
This tornado produced EF1 damage on the east side of Sheffield nearly destroying a business outbuilding. The track farther to the southwest was found in high resolution satellite imagery and also confirmed through a private weather station which recorded a wind gust to 108 mph as the tornado passed its location.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Very Low
FEMA NRI risk rating
9,956
Population (ACS)
$124K
Median home value
22
Federal declarations
| Declared | Incident | Title | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| May 24, 2024 | Severe Storm | SEVERE STORMS, TORNADOES, AND FLOODING | DR |
| 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 |
| Oct 31, 2016 | Flood | SEVERE STORMS AND FLOODING | DR |
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many severe weather events have been recorded in Franklin County, Iowa?
366 events are on record between 1959 and 2025, causing 0 direct deaths and $33.2M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Franklin County?
Thunderstorm Wind, with 142 recorded events — 38.8% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Franklin County?
29 mapped tornado paths intersect the county boundary; 23 of them touched down inside it. This is derived from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
How many federal disaster declarations cover Franklin County?
22 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Franklin County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Franklin County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Franklin County as very low risk, placing it in the 22 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Franklin 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
- Floyd County 424
- Fremont County 361
- Fayette County 444
- Greene County 335
- Emmet County 374
- Grundy County 350
Cite this page
“Franklin County, Iowa.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/iowa/franklin-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.