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Ringgold County, Iowa severe weather history spans 312 recorded events between 1955 and 2025. The dominant hazard is hail, accounting for 33.7% of all recorded events. It ranks #1,711 nationally and #79 in Iowa.
312
Recorded events
5
Direct deaths
5
Direct injuries
$48.4M
Property damage
The record
What the Ringgold County, Iowa severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Ringgold County, Iowa severe weather history averages 4.5 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2010s, with 110 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 38 events fall before 1990 and 274 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The deadliest hazard in the Ringgold County, Iowa record is thunderstorm wind, responsible for 4 direct deaths. The costliest is tornado, with $34.8M 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 Ringgold County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hail | 105 | 0 | $10.5M | 4.5 | 1955–2024 |
| Thunderstorm Wind | 98 | 4 | $1.9M | 83 | 1963–2025 |
| Heavy Rain | 54 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2008–2025 |
| Tornado | 28 | 1 | $34.8M | F4 | 1955–2024 |
| Flash Flood | 19 | 0 | $970K | 0 | 2001–2018 |
| Funnel Cloud | 4 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2013–2021 |
| Flood | 3 | 0 | $200K | 0 | 2010–2014 |
| Lightning | 1 | 0 | $25K | 0 | 2008–2008 |
Decade by decade
Ringgold County, Iowa severe weather history by decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
Tornado tracks
Paths crossing this county
34 mapped tornado paths intersect this county: 29 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1989-05-24 | EF4 | 0 | 0 | 49.0 mi | Crossed in |
| 2001-04-11 | EF3 | 0 | 0 | 76.5 mi | Crossed in |
| 1979-03-29 | EF3 | 0 | 4 | 57.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1955-04-23 | EF3 | 0 | 0 | 5.4 mi | Touched down here |
| 1984-06-07 | EF2 | 1 | 3 | 14.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 2024-04-26 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 10.2 mi | Touched down here |
| 2010-06-01 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 1.5 mi | Touched down here |
| 1990-07-25 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 4.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1981-05-23 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 15.9 mi | Touched down here |
| 1971-05-05 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 1.0 mi | Touched down here |
Significant events
Deadliest events on record in Ringgold County
| Date | Type | Location | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 8, 1984 | Tornado | 1 | 3 | $2.5M | |
| Jun 8, 1984 | Thunderstorm Wind | 1 | 2 | $0 | |
| Feb 20, 2014 | Thunderstorm Wind | BENTON | 1 | 0 | $0 |
| Jun 7, 1984 | Thunderstorm Wind | 1 | 0 | $0 | |
| Jun 7, 1984 | Thunderstorm Wind | 1 | 0 | $0 |
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
A cone shape tornado was reported. Path was intermittent and the NWS survey suggests that the tornado hit a farmstead then lifted briefly skipping over some farms before setting back down and damaging another farmstead. Eyewittnesses also recount the tornado briefly lifting.
This tornado developed in rural Ringgold County between Mt. Ayr and Diagonal. The tornado moved northeast with some damage to outbuildings and trees. The tornado crossed Highway 169 southwest of Tingley before moving through the center of town. Up to EF2 damage occurred with Tingley with an upper floor removed from one house and the destruction of some outside walls of a brick building in the downtown area. The tornado impacted a couple more farmsteads with EF0 to EF1 damage before dissipating to the northeast of Tingley.
This tornado crossed through 3 counties in southern Iowa. This is the second segment in Ringgold county. This long track tornado damaged a number of farmsteads along its 22 mile long path. The tornado was at its strongest in NW Ringgold County where EF-1 damage was found. The beginning and end sections of the track were narrow and intermittent. The narrow tornado also clipped the town of Clearfield to the NW early in its life. The tornado crossed into Union county.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Very Low
FEMA NRI risk rating
4,645
Population (ACS)
$156K
Median home value
20
Federal declarations
| Declared | Incident | Title | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| May 14, 2024 | Tornado | SEVERE STORMS 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 |
| Jul 14, 2014 | Severe Storm | SEVERE STORMS, TORNADOES, STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS, AND FLOODING | DR |
| May 31, 2013 | Flood | SEVERE STORMS, STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS, AND FLOODING | DR |
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many severe weather events have been recorded in Ringgold County, Iowa?
312 events are on record between 1955 and 2025, causing 5 direct deaths and $48.4M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Ringgold County?
Hail, with 105 recorded events — 33.7% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Ringgold County?
34 mapped tornado paths intersect the county boundary; 29 of them touched down inside it. This is derived from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
How many federal disaster declarations cover Ringgold County?
20 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Ringgold County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Ringgold County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Ringgold County as very low risk, placing it in the 14 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Ringgold 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
- Poweshiek County 371
- Sac County 292
- Pottawattamie County 564
- Scott County 1,008
- Polk County 2,151
- Shelby County 303
Cite this page
“Ringgold County, Iowa.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/iowa/ringgold-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.