Humboldt County, Iowa severe weather history spans 312 recorded events between 1956 and 2025. The dominant hazard is hail, accounting for 32.7% of all recorded events. It ranks #1,711 nationally and #79 in Iowa.
312
Recorded events
0
Direct deaths
37
Direct injuries
$10.6M
Property damage
The record
What the Humboldt County, Iowa severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Humboldt County, Iowa severe weather history averages 4.5 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2010s, with 145 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 34 events fall before 1990 and 278 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The costliest is tornado, with $5.6M 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 Humboldt County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hail | 102 | 0 | $510K | 3.5 | 1968–2025 |
| Thunderstorm Wind | 93 | 0 | $1.3M | 80 | 1960–2025 |
| Flood | 48 | 0 | $2.6M | 0 | 1998–2024 |
| Tornado | 26 | 0 | $5.6M | F2 | 1956–2025 |
| Heavy Rain | 21 | 0 | $10K | 0 | 2007–2024 |
| Flash Flood | 11 | 0 | $570K | 0 | 2000–2019 |
| Funnel Cloud | 10 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2010–2019 |
| Lightning | 1 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2007–2007 |
Decade by decade
Humboldt 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: 24 touched down inside it and 5 crossed in from a neighbouring county. This comes from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
| Date | Scale | Deaths | Injuries | Path length | Origin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1953-06-07 | EF3 | 0 | 0 | 30.7 mi | Crossed in |
| 2022-04-12 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 4.9 mi | Touched down here |
| 2004-05-21 | EF2 | 0 | 15 | 12.5 mi | Crossed in |
| 1984-06-07 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 22.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1981-06-12 | EF2 | 0 | 1 | 0.1 mi | Touched down here |
| 1967-04-30 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 6.8 mi | Crossed in |
| 1965-05-15 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 0.5 mi | Touched down here |
| 2022-04-12 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 3.3 mi | Touched down here |
| 2021-12-15 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 4.2 mi | Touched down here |
| 1991-04-29 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 0.1 mi | Touched down here |
Significant events
Deadliest events on record in Humboldt County
| Date | Type | Location | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 29, 2010 | Flood | HUMBOLDT MUNI ARPT | 0 | 20 | $5K |
| May 21, 2004 | Tornado | BRADGATE | 0 | 15 | $2.5M |
| Jun 16, 2007 | Lightning | DAKOTA CITY | 0 | 1 | $0 |
| Jun 12, 1981 | Tornado | 0 | 1 | $25K |
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
This tornado had an unusual path with a fishhook shaped track. The tornado started to the northwest just south of 230th Street between Elm and Florida Avenues. The tornado produced EF1 damage at a farmstead on the south side of 230th street, mostly to trees. The tornado began to loop northward along Elm Avenue producing damage at a couple of farms. The tornado continued to curve toward the northeast and eventually an east northeast heading ending a little over a mile southwest of Rutland, IA.
The West Fork of the Des Moines River at Humboldt went into flood in late June and remained in flood through much of July. The river crested 3 times in July. The first crest at 12.83 feet on 1 July 2018 at 18:15Z, the second crest at 13.5 feet on 7 July 2018 at 02:15 UTC, and the third crest at 12.04 feet on 15 July 2018 at 08:15 UTC.
The West Fork of the Des Moines River at Humboldt crested twice through the period of flooding. The river remained in flood into July. The first crest was at 12.35 feet on 24 June 2018 at 23:30 UTC, and the second one was at 12.64 feet on 28 June 2018 at 16:15 UTC.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Very Low
FEMA NRI risk rating
9,591
Population (ACS)
$156K
Median home value
22
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 |
| 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 |
Within the county
Most affected places
- Dakota City 173
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many severe weather events have been recorded in Humboldt County, Iowa?
312 events are on record between 1956 and 2025, causing 0 direct deaths and $10.6M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Humboldt County?
Hail, with 102 recorded events — 32.7% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Humboldt County?
29 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 Humboldt County?
22 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Humboldt County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Humboldt County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Humboldt County as very low risk, placing it in the 24 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Humboldt 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
- Howard County 309
- Ida County 262
- Henry County 304
- Iowa County 368
- Harrison County 496
- Jackson County 329
Cite this page
“Humboldt County, Iowa.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/iowa/humboldt-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.