Kossuth County, Iowa severe weather history spans 568 recorded events between 1961 and 2025. The dominant hazard is hail, accounting for 34.7% of all recorded events. It ranks #667 nationally and #23 in Iowa.
568
Recorded events
2
Direct deaths
42
Direct injuries
$70.7M
Property damage
The record
What the Kossuth County, Iowa severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Kossuth County, Iowa severe weather history averages 8.9 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2010s, with 214 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 89 events fall before 1990 and 479 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The deadliest hazard in the Kossuth County, Iowa record is tornado, responsible for 2 direct deaths. The costliest is tornado, with $62.7M 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 Kossuth County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hail | 197 | 0 | $728K | 3 | 1961–2025 |
| Thunderstorm Wind | 184 | 0 | $3.1M | 85 | 1964–2025 |
| Heavy Rain | 61 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2008–2024 |
| Tornado | 39 | 2 | $62.7M | F4 | 1964–2020 |
| Flood | 39 | 0 | $2.8M | 0 | 1998–2024 |
| Flash Flood | 24 | 0 | $1.3M | 0 | 1998–2024 |
| Funnel Cloud | 21 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2010–2024 |
| Lightning | 3 | 0 | $14K | 0 | 1996–2015 |
Decade by decade
Kossuth County, Iowa severe weather history by decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
Tornado tracks
Paths crossing this county
43 mapped tornado paths intersect this county: 36 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1964-08-29 | EF4 | 0 | 2 | 15.8 mi | Touched down here |
| 1979-06-28 | EF3 | 2 | 34 | 15.9 mi | Touched down here |
| 1984-06-07 | EF3 | 0 | 5 | 9.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1977-06-10 | EF3 | 0 | 0 | 14.9 mi | Crossed in |
| 1953-03-21 | EF3 | 0 | 0 | 31.8 mi | Crossed in |
| 1998-05-15 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 31.3 mi | Touched down here |
| 1984-06-07 | EF2 | 0 | 1 | 21.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1984-06-07 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 22.0 mi | Crossed in |
| 1980-09-20 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 24.5 mi | Touched down here |
| 1980-07-19 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 24.4 mi | Crossed in |
Significant events
Deadliest events on record in Kossuth County
| Date | Type | Location | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 28, 1979 | Tornado | 2 | 34 | $25.0M | |
| Jun 7, 1984 | Tornado | 0 | 5 | $25.0M | |
| Aug 29, 1964 | Tornado | 0 | 2 | $250K | |
| Jun 7, 1984 | Tornado | 0 | 1 | $2.5M |
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
Surveyed by the EM. A house had walls blown in and out, part of the roof was off the house. A motor from a grain auger was launched into the attic of the house with grain bins and trees down. A convergent debris path was present north-northwest of the house with no damage on the west side of the farmstead. A short track tornadic damage path was present with an area of straight line wind damage at other farms within 2 miles.
Numerous downed trees some up to 18 inches in diameter across the county, some buildings damaged and numerous power lines down. A railroad crossing arm was snapped off and a garage was destroyed in Whittemore, some outbuildings and a house were damaged near town as well. Agricultural impacts as well with machinery blown over, bent up and also seed loss.
Emergency manager reported heavy rainfall of 4.90 inches over the last 24 hours. Impacts included several county roads closed due to overland flooding and water in the basements of homes and businesses in Kossuth County.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Very Low
FEMA NRI risk rating
14,516
Population (ACS)
$148K
Median home value
20
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 |
| 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 |
Within the county
Most affected places
- Algona 130
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many severe weather events have been recorded in Kossuth County, Iowa?
568 events are on record between 1961 and 2025, causing 2 direct deaths and $70.7M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Kossuth County?
Hail, with 197 recorded events — 34.7% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Kossuth County?
43 mapped tornado paths intersect the county boundary; 36 of them touched down inside it. This is derived from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
How many federal disaster declarations cover Kossuth County?
20 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Kossuth County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Kossuth County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Kossuth County as very low risk, placing it in the 32 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Kossuth 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
- Keokuk County 282
- Lee County 530
- Jones County 491
- Linn County 1,170
- Johnson County 652
- Louisa County 247
Cite this page
“Kossuth County, Iowa.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/iowa/kossuth-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.