Live
Active alerts for this county
Extreme Heat Warning
Iowa; Johnson; Cedar; Muscatine; Scott; Keokuk; Washington; Louisa; Jefferson; Henry; Des Moines; Van Buren; Lee; Rock Island; Henry; Bureau; Putnam; Mercer; Henderson; Warren; Hancock; McDonough; Scotland; Clark
Jefferson County, Iowa severe weather history spans 256 recorded events between 1957 and 2026. The dominant hazard is thunderstorm wind, accounting for 46.1% of all recorded events. It ranks #2,068 nationally and #97 in Iowa.
256
Recorded events
0
Direct deaths
3
Direct injuries
$30.1M
Property damage
The record
What the Jefferson County, Iowa severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Jefferson County, Iowa severe weather history averages 3.7 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2000s, with 100 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 35 events fall before 1990 and 221 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The costliest is tornado, with $28.2M 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 Jefferson County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thunderstorm Wind | 118 | 0 | $587K | 70 | 1957–2026 |
| Hail | 93 | 0 | $679K | 3.75 | 1960–2026 |
| Flash Flood | 14 | 0 | $155K | 0 | 1997–2021 |
| Tornado | 13 | 0 | $28.2M | F3 | 1959–2017 |
| Flood | 7 | 0 | $250K | 0 | 2000–2019 |
| Heavy Rain | 5 | 0 | $50K | 4.2 | 2003–2021 |
| Lightning | 4 | 0 | $120K | 0 | 1996–2010 |
| Funnel Cloud | 2 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2006–2006 |
Decade by decade
Jefferson County, Iowa severe weather history by decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
Tornado tracks
Paths crossing this county
16 mapped tornado paths intersect this county: 9 touched down inside it and 7 crossed in from a neighbouring county. This comes from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
| Date | Scale | Deaths | Injuries | Path length | Origin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1967-04-21 | EF3 | 0 | 0 | 0.1 mi | Touched down here |
| 1959-05-09 | EF3 | 0 | 1 | 17.8 mi | Crossed in |
| 1989-04-27 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 18.0 mi | Crossed in |
| 1988-05-08 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 71.0 mi | Crossed in |
| 1982-09-13 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 26.0 mi | Crossed in |
| 1975-11-09 | EF2 | 0 | 3 | 8.8 mi | Crossed in |
| 1967-04-21 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 32.8 mi | Crossed in |
| 2017-05-17 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 3.2 mi | Touched down here |
| 2006-04-02 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 0.3 mi | Touched down here |
| 1992-04-20 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 2.0 mi | Touched down here |
Significant events
Deadliest events on record in Jefferson County
| Date | Type | Location | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nov 9, 1975 | Tornado | 0 | 3 | $250K |
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
Thunderstorm winds estimated to be 70 mph damaged some buildings in the vicinity of 8th St. and W Depot Ave. near the BNSF railroad tracks in Fairfield and ripped the roof off the Dexter-Apache Holdings Inc. building on Grimes Ave. The railroad crossing assembly was also ripped off.
Initial damage began from Libertyville to about 3.7 miles northwest of Fairfield. The high winds lasted roughly 10 minutes at any one location. The Fairfield Airport measured 70 knot (81 mph) winds from 1031 to 1033 CST when power was lost. Extensive damage occurred in the city of Fairfield with trees and power poles down along with water ponding on roads from heavy rainfall. No additional damage reports were received east of Fairfield, but it is likely that sporatic damage occurred in an east northeast path to the Jefferson/Henry county line along and just north of the bow apex. Based on that assumption, the following times have been established for affected cities (all times CST); Libertyville 1027-1037, Fairfield Airport 1031-1041, Fairfield 1033-1043, Perlee 1040-1050, Salina 1045-1055, East Pleasant Plain 1048-1058, Germanville 1050-1100, and Merrimac 1053-1103.
Barn collapsed due to high wind, while another building was completely removed from property on Indigo Boulevard. Garage destroyed, trees blown down and camper overturned on South 255th Street between Fairfield and Libertyville. Several vehicles also damaged at an auto body shop.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Very Low
FEMA NRI risk rating
15,705
Population (ACS)
$163K
Median home value
12
Federal declarations
| Declared | Incident | Title | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mar 23, 2020 | Biological | COVID-19 PANDEMIC | DR |
| Mar 13, 2020 | Biological | COVID-19 | EM |
| Jul 31, 2015 | Severe Storm | SEVERE STORMS, TORNADOES, STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS, AND FLOODING | DR |
| May 31, 2013 | Flood | SEVERE STORMS, STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS, AND FLOODING | DR |
| Jan 4, 2008 | Severe Ice Storm | SEVERE WINTER STORM | DR |
| Mar 14, 2007 | Severe Storm | SEVERE WINTER STORMS | DR |
Within the county
Most affected places
- Fairfield 109
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many severe weather events have been recorded in Jefferson County, Iowa?
256 events are on record between 1957 and 2026, causing 0 direct deaths and $30.1M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Jefferson County?
Thunderstorm Wind, with 118 recorded events — 46.1% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Jefferson County?
16 mapped tornado paths intersect the county boundary; 9 of them touched down inside it. This is derived from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
How many federal disaster declarations cover Jefferson County?
12 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Jefferson County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Jefferson County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Jefferson County as very low risk, placing it in the 27 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Jefferson 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
- Jasper County 577
- Johnson County 652
- Jackson County 329
- Jones County 491
- Iowa County 368
- Keokuk County 282
Cite this page
“Jefferson County, Iowa.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/iowa/jefferson-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.