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Jones County, Iowa severe weather history spans 491 recorded events between 1953 and 2026. The dominant hazard is thunderstorm wind, accounting for 50.9% of all recorded events. It ranks #907 nationally and #35 in Iowa.
491
Recorded events
0
Direct deaths
6
Direct injuries
$75.1M
Property damage
The record
What the Jones County, Iowa severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Jones County, Iowa severe weather history averages 6.7 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2000s, with 164 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 41 events fall before 1990 and 450 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The costliest is tornado, with $35.5M 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 Jones County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thunderstorm Wind | 250 | 0 | $5.4M | 109 | 1958–2026 |
| Hail | 134 | 0 | $521K | 3 | 1968–2026 |
| Tornado | 46 | 0 | $35.5M | F4 | 1953–2026 |
| Flash Flood | 26 | 0 | $2.4M | 3 | 1997–2022 |
| Flood | 21 | 0 | $31.4M | 0 | 1999–2018 |
| Funnel Cloud | 10 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2001–2022 |
| Heavy Rain | 4 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2006–2011 |
Decade by decade
Jones County, Iowa severe weather history by decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
Tornado tracks
Paths crossing this county
45 mapped tornado paths intersect this county: 37 touched down inside it and 8 crossed in from a neighbouring county. This comes from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
| Date | Scale | Deaths | Injuries | Path length | Origin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990-03-13 | EF4 | 0 | 0 | 19.0 mi | Crossed in |
| 1961-04-23 | EF3 | 1 | 12 | 87.7 mi | Crossed in |
| 1992-07-13 | EF3 | 0 | 0 | 5.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1953-05-20 | EF3 | 0 | 7 | 38.6 mi | Crossed in |
| 2017-06-28 | EF2 | 0 | 1 | 11.7 mi | Crossed in |
| 2017-06-28 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 2.5 mi | Touched down here |
| 1992-07-13 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 5.7 mi | Touched down here |
| 1972-09-28 | EF2 | 0 | 3 | 64.5 mi | Crossed in |
| 1954-04-30 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 16.6 mi | Touched down here |
| 2025-07-11 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 12.5 mi | Crossed in |
Significant events
Deadliest events on record in Jones County
| Date | Type | Location | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 21, 1953 | Tornado | 0 | 3 | $0 | |
| Apr 14, 2006 | Tornado | ANAMOSA | 0 | 1 | $100K |
| Jul 27, 1995 | Thunderstorm Wind | Monticello | 0 | 1 | $240K |
| Apr 8, 1991 | Thunderstorm Wind | 0 | 1 | $0 |
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
Wind gusts estimated to be 60 mph destroyed the JumboTron and sound system at the Jones County Fair in Monticello, IA at 1000 pm CDT July 22. In addition, some vendor tents were blown down and an awning on the Jones County Mobile EM Unit was destroyed.
Heavy rains during the third week of June resulted in the Wapsipinicon River at Anamosa going above the moderate flood stage level of 15.5 feet on June 21 around 100 am. It crested around 15.6 feet around 700 am June 21. It fell below the moderate flood stage level around 715 am June 21.
Heavy rains resulted in flash flooding across parts of Jones County on August 27. Some areas particularly hard hit were Anamosa, Monticello, and Center Junction. Several roads were closed due to the flood waters. Highway 151 was closed between Anamosa and Monticello due to flooding of Kitty Creek. Buffalo Creek flooded out of its banks flooding low lying areas. Bear Creek flooded 140th Avenue and Madison Road near Center Junction. The flood waters were 1.5 feet deep.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Very Low
FEMA NRI risk rating
20,896
Population (ACS)
$185K
Median home value
22
Federal declarations
| Declared | Incident | Title | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 17, 2020 | Severe Storm | SEVERE STORMS | 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 5, 2014 | Severe Storm | SEVERE STORMS, TORNADOES, STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS, AND FLOODING | DR |
| Jul 31, 2013 | Severe Storm | SEVERE STORMS, TORNADOES, AND FLOODING | DR |
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many severe weather events have been recorded in Jones County, Iowa?
491 events are on record between 1953 and 2026, causing 0 direct deaths and $75.1M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Jones County?
Thunderstorm Wind, with 250 recorded events — 50.9% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Jones County?
45 mapped tornado paths intersect the county boundary; 37 of them touched down inside it. This is derived from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
How many federal disaster declarations cover Jones County?
22 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Jones County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Jones County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Jones County as very low risk, placing it in the 33 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Jones 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
- Johnson County 652
- Keokuk County 282
- Jefferson County 256
- Kossuth County 568
- Jasper County 577
- Lee County 530
Cite this page
“Jones County, Iowa.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/iowa/jones-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.