Winneshiek County, Iowa severe weather history spans 440 recorded events between 1955 and 2025. The dominant hazard is thunderstorm wind, accounting for 37.7% of all recorded events. It ranks #1,099 nationally and #44 in Iowa.
440
Recorded events
0
Direct deaths
4
Direct injuries
$26.2M
Property damage
The record
What the Winneshiek County, Iowa severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Winneshiek County, Iowa severe weather history averages 6.3 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2000s, with 146 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 43 events fall before 1990 and 397 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The costliest is flash flood, with $7.4M 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 Winneshiek County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thunderstorm Wind | 166 | 0 | $3.4M | 78 | 1955–2025 |
| Hail | 161 | 0 | $5.4M | 4.25 | 1965–2025 |
| Flash Flood | 32 | 0 | $7.4M | 0 | 1998–2025 |
| Flood | 30 | 0 | $3.7M | 0 | 1998–2025 |
| Tornado | 23 | 0 | $6.3M | F4 | 1957–2024 |
| Heavy Rain | 15 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2009–2018 |
| Funnel Cloud | 10 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 1998–2014 |
| Lightning | 3 | 0 | $42K | 0 | 2014–2016 |
Decade by decade
Winneshiek County, Iowa severe weather history by decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
Tornado tracks
Paths crossing this county
27 mapped tornado paths intersect this county: 21 touched down inside it and 6 crossed in from a neighbouring county. This comes from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
| Date | Scale | Deaths | Injuries | Path length | Origin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1965-05-05 | EF4 | 0 | 11 | 41.6 mi | Crossed in |
| 1994-07-19 | EF3 | 0 | 0 | 23.0 mi | Crossed in |
| 1965-05-05 | EF3 | 0 | 7 | 65.2 mi | Touched down here |
| 1988-03-24 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 9.0 mi | Crossed in |
| 1987-07-29 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 10.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1973-06-04 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 1.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1967-03-30 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 4.1 mi | Crossed in |
| 1965-09-09 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 1.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1965-08-25 | EF2 | 0 | 1 | 14.7 mi | Touched down here |
| 1990-06-12 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 2.0 mi | Touched down here |
Significant events
Deadliest events on record in Winneshiek County
| Date | Type | Location | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 20, 1994 | Thunderstorm Wind | Decorah | 0 | 2 | $50K |
| Aug 4, 1979 | Tornado | 0 | 1 | $25K | |
| Aug 26, 1965 | 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
Flood waters caused homes along Cedar Valley Road, southwest of Freeport, to be evacuated. Widespread flooding occurred in Freeport prompting the need for water rescues to be performed and for local law enforcement to not allow any travel in the area. River Road near Freeport was closed due to flooding from the Upper Iowa River that also caused a trailer court to be evacuated. The runoff from heavy rains also caused urban flooding to occur on the south side of Decorah where a vehicle was flooded in a parking lot. Numerous bridge approaches were lost in the flooding and lots of gravel was washed off roads.
Several civil cmergency messages were issued for evacuations in the county. Nursing homes and residences in the lower areas on the west side of the city of Decorah were evacuated. Ponding of water in Decorah could not be stopped even with pumps running. Many roads were closed in the county due to high water.||In Fort Atkinson, the supports to a train bridge gave way in addition to damage to Highway 24 near town. Mudslides were also reported on County Road B32 between Fort Atkinson and Festina.||In Spillville, flood waters covered many of the streets and the waste water treatment plant. Sand bagging efforts were haulted as flood waters condintued to rise. |The Turkey River flooded in Spillville and Fort Atkinson and damaged railroad bridges. The Highway 24 bridge over the Turkey was heavily damaged and had to be closed for repairs following the flood.
Rounds of thunderstorms produced flash flooding over large parts of the county. Many secondary roads were damaged including infrastructures. The Upper Iowa River also began to rise very quickly. Mudslides were also reported. The Protivin area near neighboring Howard County was also evacuated.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Very Low
FEMA NRI risk rating
19,873
Population (ACS)
$259K
Median home value
21
Federal declarations
| Declared | Incident | Title | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 24, 2024 | Severe Storm | SEVERE STORMS, FLOODING, 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 |
| Aug 20, 2018 | Severe Storm | SEVERE STORMS, TORNADOES, STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS, AND FLOODING | DR |
| Aug 27, 2017 | Severe Storm | SEVERE STORMS, TORNADOES, STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS, AND FLOODING | DR |
Within the county
Most affected places
- Spillville 133
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many severe weather events have been recorded in Winneshiek County, Iowa?
440 events are on record between 1955 and 2025, causing 0 direct deaths and $26.2M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Winneshiek County?
Thunderstorm Wind, with 166 recorded events — 37.7% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Winneshiek County?
27 mapped tornado paths intersect the county boundary; 21 of them touched down inside it. This is derived from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
How many federal disaster declarations cover Winneshiek County?
21 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Winneshiek County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Winneshiek County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Winneshiek County as very low risk, placing it in the 36 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Winneshiek 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
- Winnebago County 317
- Woodbury County 856
- Webster County 758
- Worth County 300
- Wayne County 332
- Wright County 351
Cite this page
“Winneshiek County, Iowa.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/iowa/winneshiek-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.