Hancock County, Iowa severe weather history spans 318 recorded events between 1951 and 2025. The dominant hazard is thunderstorm wind, accounting for 37.4% of all recorded events. It ranks #1,678 nationally and #76 in Iowa.
318
Recorded events
0
Direct deaths
28
Direct injuries
$15.1M
Property damage
The record
What the Hancock County, Iowa severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Hancock County, Iowa severe weather history averages 4.3 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2010s, with 114 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 41 events fall before 1990 and 277 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The costliest is tornado, with $12.4M 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 Hancock County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thunderstorm Wind | 119 | 0 | $1.7M | 87 | 1956–2025 |
| Hail | 114 | 0 | $451K | 5.5 | 1958–2025 |
| Heavy Rain | 30 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2010–2024 |
| Tornado | 28 | 0 | $12.4M | F4 | 1951–2025 |
| Funnel Cloud | 12 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 1996–2021 |
| Flood | 8 | 0 | $275K | 0 | 1998–2024 |
| Flash Flood | 5 | 0 | $285K | 0 | 1997–2017 |
| Lightning | 2 | 0 | $35K | 0 | 1998–2006 |
Decade by decade
Hancock 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: 25 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1966-10-14 | EF5 | 6 | 172 | 9.7 mi | Crossed in |
| 1953-05-10 | EF4 | 0 | 3 | 26.6 mi | Touched down here |
| 1994-06-18 | EF3 | 0 | 0 | 6.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1984-06-07 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 22.0 mi | Crossed in |
| 1984-06-07 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 18.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1982-05-17 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 13.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1980-09-20 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 24.5 mi | Crossed in |
| 1973-09-26 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 1.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1967-04-30 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 4.3 mi | Touched down here |
| 1963-05-09 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 13.1 mi | Touched down here |
Significant events
Deadliest events on record in Hancock County
| Date | Type | Location | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 27, 1991 | Thunderstorm Wind | 0 | 16 | $0 | |
| Jun 25, 1951 | Tornado | 0 | 8 | $0 | |
| May 10, 1953 | Tornado | 0 | 3 | $250K | |
| Jun 6, 1999 | Thunderstorm Wind | CORWITH | 0 | 1 | $25K |
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
Storm chaser video depicted extensive wind damage and likely wind driven hail damage in the town of Klemme. Damage included numerous car, home, and business windows broken and trees downed on homes. This is a delayed report and time estimated from radar.
Emergency manager reported significant wind-driven hail damage to corn and bean fields between Britt and Klemme. Golf ball or larger hail and 70 to 80 mph winds pulverized 5 to 6 foot cornstalks to stubble. Trees and power lines also downed.
The tornado developed just west of Iowa Avenue south of 120th Street west of Kanawha and immediately produced minor damage to outbuildings. The tornado continued east northeast and grazed the northwest edge of Kanawha with tree branches downed along with minor damage to a few houses, mainly from missing shingles. The tornado dissipated not far northeast of the town.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Very Low
FEMA NRI risk rating
10,671
Population (ACS)
$141K
Median home value
15
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 |
| Aug 20, 2018 | Severe Storm | SEVERE STORMS, TORNADOES, STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS, AND FLOODING | DR |
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many severe weather events have been recorded in Hancock County, Iowa?
318 events are on record between 1951 and 2025, causing 0 direct deaths and $15.1M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Hancock County?
Thunderstorm Wind, with 119 recorded events — 37.4% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Hancock County?
29 mapped tornado paths intersect the county boundary; 25 of them touched down inside it. This is derived from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
How many federal disaster declarations cover Hancock County?
15 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Hancock County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Hancock County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Hancock County as very low risk, placing it in the 29 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Hancock 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
- Hamilton County 438
- Hardin County 469
- Guthrie County 515
- Harrison County 496
- Grundy County 350
- Henry County 304
Cite this page
“Hancock County, Iowa.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/iowa/hancock-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.