Sac County, Iowa severe weather history spans 292 recorded events between 1964 and 2025. The dominant hazard is hail, accounting for 37.7% of all recorded events. It ranks #1,823 nationally and #88 in Iowa.
292
Recorded events
0
Direct deaths
1
Direct injuries
$15.3M
Property damage
The record
What the Sac County, Iowa severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Sac County, Iowa severe weather history averages 4.8 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2000s, with 86 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 29 events fall before 1990 and 263 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The costliest is tornado, with $10.8M 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 Sac County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hail | 110 | 0 | $476K | 2.75 | 1964–2025 |
| Thunderstorm Wind | 99 | 0 | $2.2M | 85 | 1968–2025 |
| Tornado | 25 | 0 | $10.8M | F3 | 1965–2023 |
| Flash Flood | 19 | 0 | $1.1M | 0 | 1996–2019 |
| Heavy Rain | 14 | 0 | $5K | 0 | 2008–2018 |
| Funnel Cloud | 13 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2010–2022 |
| Flood | 11 | 0 | $720K | 0 | 1996–2019 |
| Lightning | 1 | 0 | $5K | 0 | 2001–2001 |
Decade by decade
Sac County, Iowa severe weather history by decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
Tornado tracks
Paths crossing this county
30 mapped tornado paths intersect this county: 22 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1995-05-27 | EF4 | 0 | 0 | 36.0 mi | Crossed in |
| 2011-04-09 | EF3 | 0 | 0 | 29.4 mi | Touched down here |
| 2011-04-09 | EF3 | 0 | 0 | 10.1 mi | Touched down here |
| 1991-04-26 | EF3 | 0 | 0 | 7.7 mi | Crossed in |
| 2021-12-15 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 17.6 mi | Crossed in |
| 2011-04-09 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 1.6 mi | Touched down here |
| 2011-04-09 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 8.3 mi | Touched down here |
| 1984-04-26 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 22.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1984-06-07 | EF2 | 0 | 1 | 16.0 mi | Crossed in |
| 1984-06-07 | EF2 | 0 | 1 | 12.0 mi | Crossed in |
Significant events
Deadliest events on record in Sac County
| Date | Type | Location | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 24, 2004 | Thunderstorm Wind | EARLY | 0 | 1 | $80K |
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
Damage swath observed from east of Odebolt through the Early area, to the east side of Lake View. Numerous power poles down, roof blown off outbuildings, turkey, and hog confinements buildings, and boats were thrown at a dealership.
Thirteen large power poles were snapped along a mile long stretch of Perkins Ave. One third of the roof of a hog confinement building was ripped off one half mile up the road. Another half mile up the road, one third of a machine shed was destroyed. Little damage was noted east or west of this area. Wind speeds were estimated around 90 MPH.
This tornado move into Sac county from Carroll county. This tornado passed just on the southeast side of the hamlet of Carnarvon with EF1 damage from a destroyed outbuilding. The tornado continued northeast through rural south and east Sac county producing EF0 to EF1 damage to outbuildings and trees. EF2 damage was observed when power poles were snapped along 310th street east of Union Avenue. The tornado eventually lifted to the southwest of Lytton.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Very Low
FEMA NRI risk rating
9,689
Population (ACS)
$141K
Median home value
19
Federal declarations
| Declared | Incident | Title | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| 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 |
| Jul 24, 2014 | Flood | SEVERE STORMS, TORNADOES, STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS, AND FLOODING | DR |
| Jul 2, 2013 | Severe Storm | SEVERE STORMS, TORNADOES, AND FLOODING | DR |
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many severe weather events have been recorded in Sac County, Iowa?
292 events are on record between 1964 and 2025, causing 0 direct deaths and $15.3M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Sac County?
Hail, with 110 recorded events — 37.7% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Sac County?
30 mapped tornado paths intersect the county boundary; 22 of them touched down inside it. This is derived from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
How many federal disaster declarations cover Sac County?
19 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Sac County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Sac County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Sac County as very low risk, placing it in the 27 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Sac 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
- Ringgold County 312
- Scott County 1,008
- Poweshiek County 371
- Shelby County 303
- Pottawattamie County 564
- Sioux County 690
Cite this page
“Sac County, Iowa.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/iowa/sac-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.