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Van Buren County, Iowa severe weather history spans 327 recorded events between 1959 and 2026. The dominant hazard is hail, accounting for 38.5% of all recorded events. It ranks #1,625 nationally and #75 in Iowa.
327
Recorded events
3
Direct deaths
20
Direct injuries
$17.6M
Property damage
The record
What the Van Buren County, Iowa severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Van Buren County, Iowa severe weather history averages 4.9 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2010s, with 113 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 45 events fall before 1990 and 282 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The deadliest hazard in the Van Buren County, Iowa record is tornado, responsible for 2 direct deaths. The costliest is lightning, with $10.1M 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 Van Buren County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hail | 126 | 0 | $150K | 3 | 1961–2026 |
| Thunderstorm Wind | 126 | 0 | $545K | 70 | 1967–2025 |
| Tornado | 27 | 2 | $4.4M | F3 | 1959–2025 |
| Flash Flood | 23 | 0 | $767K | 5.5 | 1996–2021 |
| Flood | 13 | 0 | $1.5M | 0 | 2001–2021 |
| Heavy Rain | 6 | 0 | $7K | 1.5 | 2001–2021 |
| Lightning | 5 | 1 | $10.1M | 0 | 2002–2024 |
| Funnel Cloud | 1 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2010–2010 |
Decade by decade
Van Buren County, Iowa severe weather history by decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
Tornado tracks
Paths crossing this county
25 mapped tornado paths intersect this county: 25 touched down inside it and 0 crossed in from a neighbouring county. This comes from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
| Date | Scale | Deaths | Injuries | Path length | Origin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1967-04-16 | EF3 | 2 | 16 | 19.4 mi | Touched down here |
| 2019-05-27 | EF3 | 0 | 0 | 7.3 mi | Touched down here |
| 1967-01-24 | EF3 | 0 | 0 | 25.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1959-05-09 | EF3 | 0 | 1 | 17.8 mi | Touched down here |
| 2008-04-10 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 1.8 mi | Touched down here |
| 2006-04-02 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 3.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1975-11-09 | EF2 | 0 | 3 | 8.8 mi | Touched down here |
| 1967-04-21 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 32.8 mi | Touched down here |
| 1964-08-20 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 0.3 mi | Touched down here |
| 2018-07-19 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 0.2 mi | Touched down here |
Significant events
Deadliest events on record in Van Buren County
| Date | Type | Location | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 16, 1967 | Tornado | 2 | 16 | $2.5M | |
| May 1, 2003 | Lightning | KEOSAUQUA | 1 | 1 | $0 |
| Jun 16, 2012 | Thunderstorm Wind | STOCKPORT | 0 | 1 | $25K |
| May 23, 2002 | Lightning | DOUDS | 0 | 1 | $0 |
| May 10, 1959 | Tornado | 0 | 1 | $250K |
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
Heavy rains resulted in flash flooding of Farmington, IA and much of southeast Van Buren County during the late evening of July 19 and morning of July 20. The Burg building in Farmington was inundated with flood waters. Some rural roads were covered by flood waters that flowed out of farm fields. The flooding had receded by 830 am CDT July 20.
An EF2 tornado moved northeast from just southeast of Lebanon to just northeast of Lebanon during the early evening of April 10th. A wine shed and mobile home were destroyed. The top was ripped off of a silo and the second story of a winery was damaged. A house sustained minor structural damage and several large trees were topped off.
Heavy rains caused some flash flooding in southeastern Van Buren County during the morning of June 20. The Fox River flooded out of its banks and encroached onto Jersey Ave about 4 miles east of Cantril, IA. Some gravel roads about 3 miles west southwest of Bonaparte, IA washed out. In Farmington, water was across some roads and ditches and creeks were running high.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Very Low
FEMA NRI risk rating
7,241
Population (ACS)
$115K
Median home value
16
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 |
| Sep 12, 2018 | Severe Storm | SEVERE STORM AND TORNADOES | DR |
| May 31, 2013 | Flood | SEVERE STORMS, STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS, AND FLOODING | DR |
| Jul 29, 2010 | Severe Storm | SEVERE STORMS, FLOODING, AND TORNADOES | DR |
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many severe weather events have been recorded in Van Buren County, Iowa?
327 events are on record between 1959 and 2026, causing 3 direct deaths and $17.6M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Van Buren County?
Hail, with 126 recorded events — 38.5% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Van Buren County?
25 mapped tornado paths intersect the county boundary; 25 of them touched down inside it. This is derived from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
How many federal disaster declarations cover Van Buren County?
16 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Van Buren County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Van Buren County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Van Buren County as very low risk, placing it in the 34 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Van Buren 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
- Union County 406
- Wapello County 594
- Taylor County 442
- Warren County 883
- Tama County 431
- Washington County 371
Cite this page
“Van Buren County, Iowa.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/iowa/van-buren-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.