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Adair County, Iowa severe weather history spans 431 recorded events between 1953 and 2025. The dominant hazard is hail, accounting for 40.6% of all recorded events. It ranks #1,133 nationally and #47 in Iowa.
431
Recorded events
6
Direct deaths
42
Direct injuries
$51.3M
Property damage
The record
What the Adair County, Iowa severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Adair County, Iowa severe weather history averages 6.0 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2000s, with 157 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 33 events fall before 1990 and 398 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The deadliest hazard in the Adair County, Iowa record is tornado, responsible for 6 direct deaths. The costliest is tornado, with $36.3M 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 Adair County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hail | 175 | 0 | $11.4M | 4.5 | 1961–2025 |
| Thunderstorm Wind | 158 | 0 | $2.1M | 85 | 1960–2025 |
| Tornado | 33 | 6 | $36.3M | F5 | 1953–2024 |
| Heavy Rain | 31 | 0 | $45K | 0 | 2007–2023 |
| Flash Flood | 19 | 0 | $1.0M | 0 | 1996–2025 |
| Flood | 8 | 0 | $445K | 0 | 1998–2019 |
| Funnel Cloud | 4 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2015–2022 |
| Lightning | 3 | 0 | $33K | 0 | 1999–2023 |
Decade by decade
Adair County, Iowa severe weather history by decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
Tornado tracks
Paths crossing this county
36 mapped tornado paths intersect this county: 30 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1953-06-27 | EF5 | 1 | 2 | 0.1 mi | Touched down here |
| 2024-05-21 | EF4 | 5 | 35 | 40.7 mi | Crossed in |
| 1999-04-08 | EF4 | 0 | 3 | 49.0 mi | Crossed in |
| 1999-04-08 | EF4 | 0 | 1 | 56.0 mi | Crossed in |
| 1995-05-27 | EF4 | 0 | 2 | 57.0 mi | Crossed in |
| 1959-05-10 | EF4 | 0 | 1 | 41.1 mi | Touched down here |
| 1994-04-14 | EF3 | 0 | 0 | 14.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 2019-05-22 | EF2 | 1 | 1 | 4.8 mi | Touched down here |
| 2024-05-21 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 14.6 mi | Touched down here |
| 1963-04-18 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 1.9 mi | Touched down here |
Significant events
Deadliest events on record in Adair County
| Date | Type | Location | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 21, 2024 | Tornado | FISK | 4 | 35 | $30.0M |
| Jun 27, 1953 | Tornado | 1 | 2 | $250K | |
| May 22, 2019 | Tornado | ADAIR | 1 | 1 | $500K |
| Apr 8, 1999 | Tornado | BRIDGEWATER | 0 | 2 | $1.0M |
| Mar 30, 2006 | Thunderstorm Wind | FONTANELLE | 0 | 1 | $20K |
| May 10, 1959 | Tornado | 0 | 1 | $2.5M |
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
Tornado developed south southeast of Adair and moved quickly north. Initial damage was mainly to trees, grain bins and outbuildings. Three houses were encountered by the tornado with the first two receiving EF0 damage. The third house had the roof removed with several of the outside walls collapsing, but the inside walls remaining intact. Two individuals were sleeping inside when the tornado arrived with one injury and one fatality occurring. This structure sustained EF2 damage with the tornado passing over Interstate 80 and remaining in rural cropland for the remainder of its path in Adair County. The tornado then crossed into Guthrie County before dissipating.
Emergency management recorded a path of damage from just east of Greenfield to just shy of the Adair/Madison County line north of 140th Street. The initial portion of this tornado was observed via the Doppler on Wheels (DOW) and was extended farther southwest accordingly. This tornado impacted farmsteads with damage to outbuildings and tree groves. Toward the end of the path, a large industrial wind mill was blown over southeast of the intersection of 150th street and Walnut Avenue. EF2 damage was then done with complete destruction of an outbuilding along York Avenue along with shredding of trees. The tornado then quickly weakened and dissipated as it approached the county line.
Tornado moved into Adair county from Adams county. The tornado remained in rural southern Adair county as it moved to the northeast. It did encounter one farmstead and produced EF1 damage to an outbuilding along with additional tree damage. The rest of the track was in rural cropland before dissipating several miles south of Fontanelle.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Relatively Low
FEMA NRI risk rating
7,460
Population (ACS)
$160K
Median home value
17
Federal declarations
| Declared | Incident | Title | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| May 24, 2024 | Severe Storm | SEVERE STORMS, TORNADOES, AND FLOODING | 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 |
| Mar 2, 2010 | Severe Storm | SEVERE WINTER STORM | DR |
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many severe weather events have been recorded in Adair County, Iowa?
431 events are on record between 1953 and 2025, causing 6 direct deaths and $51.3M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Adair County?
Hail, with 175 recorded events — 40.6% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Adair County?
36 mapped tornado paths intersect the county boundary; 30 of them touched down inside it. This is derived from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
How many federal disaster declarations cover Adair County?
17 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Adair County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Adair County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Adair County as relatively low risk, placing it in the 49 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Adair 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
- Adams County 273
- Allamakee County 308
- Appanoose County 408
- Audubon County 269
- Benton County 752
- Black Hawk County 861
Cite this page
“Adair County, Iowa.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/iowa/adair-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.