Tama County, Iowa severe weather history spans 431 recorded events between 1953 and 2025. The dominant hazard is thunderstorm wind, accounting for 35.5% of all recorded events. It ranks #1,133 nationally and #47 in Iowa.
431
Recorded events
1
Direct deaths
35
Direct injuries
$41.4M
Property damage
The record
What the Tama County, Iowa severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Tama County, Iowa severe weather history averages 6.0 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2010s, with 130 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 66 events fall before 1990 and 365 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The deadliest hazard in the Tama County, Iowa record is tornado, responsible for 1 direct deaths. The costliest is tornado, with $33.7M 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 Tama County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thunderstorm Wind | 153 | 0 | $5.1M | 100 | 1962–2025 |
| Hail | 109 | 0 | $384K | 3.75 | 1961–2025 |
| Heavy Rain | 56 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2008–2024 |
| Tornado | 48 | 1 | $33.7M | F4 | 1953–2022 |
| Flood | 30 | 0 | $1.1M | 0 | 1998–2024 |
| Flash Flood | 19 | 0 | $1.0M | 0 | 2000–2024 |
| Funnel Cloud | 13 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 1996–2024 |
| Lightning | 3 | 0 | $110K | 0 | 2000–2010 |
Decade by decade
Tama County, Iowa severe weather history by decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
Tornado tracks
Paths crossing this county
51 mapped tornado paths intersect this county: 42 touched down inside it and 9 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 | 66.0 mi | Crossed in |
| 1961-04-23 | EF3 | 1 | 12 | 87.7 mi | Crossed in |
| 1977-05-04 | EF3 | 0 | 0 | 17.8 mi | Touched down here |
| 1975-11-09 | EF3 | 0 | 0 | 39.4 mi | Touched down here |
| 1971-05-31 | EF3 | 0 | 0 | 9.4 mi | Touched down here |
| 1966-04-19 | EF3 | 0 | 4 | 27.1 mi | Crossed in |
| 2022-03-05 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 8.5 mi | Touched down here |
| 2022-03-05 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 17.3 mi | Crossed in |
| 2014-06-30 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 3.7 mi | Touched down here |
| 2001-05-10 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 8.0 mi | Crossed in |
Significant events
Deadliest events on record in Tama County
| Date | Type | Location | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 23, 1961 | Tornado | 1 | 6 | $2.5M | |
| Aug 14, 1993 | Thunderstorm Wind | Tama | 0 | 25 | $5K |
| Apr 20, 1966 | Tornado | 0 | 4 | $250K |
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
The public works director for La Porte City, IA reported over 75 homes impacted from the flooding with some homes reporting flooding impacts that extended to include both basements and part of the main level of the home. Flooding continued to block roads in town in areas that hadn't seen flood impacts since widespread flooding from the floods of 2008.
This tornado was the next in a series of tornadoes from the same supercell which tracked across central Iowa on this day. It formed southwest of the intersection of 370th Street and H Avenue and moved northeast. While remaining mostly over cropland and wooded areas, the tornado did impact a couple different residences with EF1 damage to outbuildings along Highway 63 south of Tama and then EF2 damage to a house on Highway E64 southeast of Tama where the roof was removed. Several cars were also tossed around at this location. The tornado then moved into the Iowa River valley producing tree damage with the tornado dissipating just shy of Highway 30 near P Avenue.
A farm site on Highway V18 had tree tops snapped off. Minor damage occurred to the house with a gutter blown onto a truck. The roof was off of an outbuilding. The narrow damage path was very localized. In the town of Cluttier, one half mile to the southwest, large tree limbs were down. Debris and corn was directed to the north, consistent with small tornadic circulation at the farm site with EF0 damage.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Relatively Low
FEMA NRI risk rating
16,868
Population (ACS)
$149K
Median home value
21
Federal declarations
| Declared | Incident | Title | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| May 24, 2024 | Severe Storm | SEVERE STORMS, TORNADOES, AND FLOODING | DR |
| 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 |
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many severe weather events have been recorded in Tama County, Iowa?
431 events are on record between 1953 and 2025, causing 1 direct deaths and $41.4M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Tama County?
Thunderstorm Wind, with 153 recorded events — 35.5% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Tama County?
51 mapped tornado paths intersect the county boundary; 42 of them touched down inside it. This is derived from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
How many federal disaster declarations cover Tama County?
21 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Tama County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Tama County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Tama County as relatively low risk, placing it in the 45 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Tama 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
- Story County 1,100
- Taylor County 442
- Sioux County 690
- Union County 406
- Shelby County 303
- Van Buren County 327
Cite this page
“Tama County, Iowa.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/iowa/tama-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.