Chickasaw County, Iowa severe weather history spans 316 recorded events between 1953 and 2026. The dominant hazard is hail, accounting for 35.1% of all recorded events. It ranks #1,689 nationally and #78 in Iowa.
316
Recorded events
1
Direct deaths
5
Direct injuries
$11.4M
Property damage
The record
What the Chickasaw County, Iowa severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Chickasaw County, Iowa severe weather history averages 4.3 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2000s, with 90 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 39 events fall before 1990 and 277 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The deadliest hazard in the Chickasaw County, Iowa record is flash flood, responsible for 1 direct deaths. The costliest is tornado, with $5.5M 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 Chickasaw County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hail | 111 | 0 | $542K | 2.75 | 1962–2026 |
| Thunderstorm Wind | 108 | 0 | $2.2M | 100 | 1962–2024 |
| Tornado | 30 | 0 | $5.5M | F5 | 1953–2021 |
| Flash Flood | 27 | 1 | $1.9M | 0 | 1998–2025 |
| Heavy Rain | 17 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2013–2021 |
| Flood | 16 | 0 | $1.2M | 0 | 1998–2025 |
| Funnel Cloud | 5 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2002–2021 |
| Lightning | 2 | 0 | $60K | 0 | 1997–2021 |
Decade by decade
Chickasaw County, Iowa severe weather history by decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
Tornado tracks
Paths crossing this county
29 mapped tornado paths intersect this county: 26 touched down inside it and 3 crossed in from a neighbouring county. This comes from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
| Date | Scale | Deaths | Injuries | Path length | Origin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1971-07-12 | EF4 | 0 | 8 | 10.9 mi | Crossed in |
| 1953-05-20 | EF3 | 1 | 0 | 116.1 mi | Crossed in |
| 1994-07-07 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 9.5 mi | Touched down here |
| 1993-08-09 | EF2 | 0 | 2 | 5.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1967-03-30 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 4.1 mi | Touched down here |
| 1966-04-19 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 4.6 mi | Crossed in |
| 1956-07-17 | EF2 | 0 | 1 | 2.3 mi | Touched down here |
| 2021-12-15 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 4.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1995-07-05 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 8.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1991-06-18 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 5.0 mi | Touched down here |
Significant events
Deadliest events on record in Chickasaw County
| Date | Type | Location | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 24, 2016 | Flash Flood | LITTLE TURKEY | 1 | 0 | $10K |
| Aug 9, 1993 | Tornado | New Hampton | 0 | 2 | $500K |
| Mar 10, 2010 | Flood | DEERFIELD | 0 | 1 | $7K |
| Jun 18, 1998 | Thunderstorm Wind | NASHUA | 0 | 1 | $500K |
| Jul 17, 1956 | Tornado | 0 | 1 | $250 |
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
Highways 18 and 63 were closed in spots from flood waters. A Local Area Emergency (LAE) was issued for the county based on requests early Sunday morning June 8. Main roads were mostly open, but secondary and township roads were under water. The Cedar River caused flooding in parts of Nashua where sand bagging efforts were unable to save a water main from breaking and cutting off the towns water supply. Rainfall totals of 6 to 7 inches were reported during the weekend of June 7-8.
Numerous roads were closed across Chickasaw County because of flood waters in the Ionia area. The East Fork of the Wapsipinicon River went out of its banks forcing officials to close U.S. Highway 18 near Fredericksburg. A train attempting to cross the Wapsipinicon River southwest of New Hampton derailed causing officials to evacuate nearby residents when one of the tank cars leaked some anhydrous ammonia.
Heavy rains of 4 to 8 inches caused flash flooding to occur across the southern sections of Chickasaw County. Flood waters from two small creeks covered U.S. Highway 18 west of Fredericksburg. The flood waters prompted sandbagging to be done in New Hampton. Numerous roads across the county sustained damage during the flooding.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Very Low
FEMA NRI risk rating
11,807
Population (ACS)
$183K
Median home value
19
Federal declarations
| Declared | Incident | Title | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mar 23, 2020 | Biological | COVID-19 PANDEMIC | DR |
| Mar 13, 2020 | Biological | COVID-19 | EM |
| 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 |
| Oct 31, 2016 | Flood | SEVERE STORMS AND FLOODING | DR |
| Sep 29, 2016 | Flood | SEVERE STORMS, STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS, AND FLOODING | DR |
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many severe weather events have been recorded in Chickasaw County, Iowa?
316 events are on record between 1953 and 2026, causing 1 direct deaths and $11.4M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Chickasaw County?
Hail, with 111 recorded events — 35.1% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Chickasaw County?
29 mapped tornado paths intersect the county boundary; 26 of them touched down inside it. This is derived from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
How many federal disaster declarations cover Chickasaw County?
19 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Chickasaw County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Chickasaw County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Chickasaw County as very low risk, placing it in the 32 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Chickasaw 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
- Cherokee County 381
- Clarke County 355
- Cerro Gordo County 605
- Clay County 663
- Cedar County 498
- Clayton County 535
Cite this page
“Chickasaw County, Iowa.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/iowa/chickasaw-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.