Crawford County, Iowa severe weather history spans 443 recorded events between 1956 and 2025. The dominant hazard is thunderstorm wind, accounting for 41.8% of all recorded events. It ranks #1,090 nationally and #42 in Iowa.
443
Recorded events
0
Direct deaths
6
Direct injuries
$23.3M
Property damage
The record
What the Crawford County, Iowa severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Crawford County, Iowa severe weather history averages 6.4 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2000s, with 130 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 49 events fall before 1990 and 394 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 $12.3M 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 Crawford County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thunderstorm Wind | 185 | 0 | $2.0M | 76 | 1965–2025 |
| Hail | 148 | 0 | $963K | 4.25 | 1956–2024 |
| Tornado | 38 | 0 | $7.6M | F3 | 1957–2024 |
| Heavy Rain | 36 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2008–2019 |
| Flash Flood | 20 | 0 | $12.3M | 0 | 1996–2014 |
| Flood | 9 | 0 | $390K | 0 | 1996–2019 |
| Funnel Cloud | 5 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2010–2024 |
| Lightning | 2 | 0 | $75K | 0 | 2007–2014 |
Decade by decade
Crawford County, Iowa severe weather history by decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
Tornado tracks
Paths crossing this county
46 mapped tornado paths intersect this county: 37 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1992-06-16 | EF3 | 0 | 3 | 26.0 mi | Crossed in |
| 1991-04-26 | EF3 | 0 | 0 | 7.7 mi | Touched down here |
| 1969-07-26 | EF3 | 0 | 0 | 22.5 mi | Crossed in |
| 2024-04-26 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 9.3 mi | Crossed in |
| 1999-05-16 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 22.5 mi | Crossed in |
| 1998-06-29 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 11.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1969-07-26 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 11.1 mi | Touched down here |
| 1969-06-28 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 4.3 mi | Touched down here |
| 1965-09-07 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 1.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1952-06-02 | EF2 | 0 | 1 | 2.3 mi | Touched down here |
Significant events
Deadliest events on record in Crawford County
| Date | Type | Location | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 17, 1992 | Tornado | 0 | 3 | $2.5M | |
| Sep 1, 2014 | Lightning | DENISON MUNI ARPT | 0 | 1 | $0 |
| Aug 8, 1994 | Thunderstorm Wind | Schleswig | 0 | 1 | $5K |
| Jul 4, 1957 | Tornado | 0 | 1 | $30 |
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
Crawford County law enforcement reported water running four feet deep over Highway 30 in Denison with cars stalled and debris being swept into the river. Highway 30 also was partly under water near Dow City and there was a possible mudslide on Kenwood Road south of Charter Oak.
Trained spotter reported that Boyer River was out of its banks near Deloit, Dow City, and bankfull at the Crawford County Fairgrounds. Many county roads had water reported over them in low lying areas near creeks and streams.
A weak cold front dropped southeast into Iowa. The airmass was not as unstable as it had been over the previous days. Thunderstorms developed early in the day and took some of the punch out of the system. During the late afternoon hours, a line of thunderstorms developed ahead of the cold front. They were severe for a brief period of time. One tornado touched down in Plymouth County at Merrill. The tornado only made a brief touchdown and did not cause any significant damage. A short time later, a funnel cloud was seen near Moville in Woodbury County. Most of the damage by the storms was due to gusty winds. There were numerous reports of trees and power lines downed. The strongest winds were in Plymouth County. A 77 mph wind gust blew through Le Mars. The winds caused roof damage to one building there. Sixty to sixty five mph winds were reported at Remsen and Kingsley. High winds in Crawford County, at Denison, downed power lines and power poles. After that report, the storms weakened and were below severe levels through the rest of the evening.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Relatively Low
FEMA NRI risk rating
16,277
Population (ACS)
$154K
Median home value
23
Federal declarations
| Declared | Incident | Title | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| May 21, 2025 | Winter Storm | SEVERE WINTER STORM | DR |
| May 14, 2024 | Tornado | SEVERE STORMS 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 5, 2014 | Severe Storm | SEVERE STORMS, TORNADOES, STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS, AND FLOODING | DR |
Within the county
Most affected places
- Denison 122
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many severe weather events have been recorded in Crawford County, Iowa?
443 events are on record between 1956 and 2025, causing 0 direct deaths and $23.3M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Crawford County?
Thunderstorm Wind, with 185 recorded events — 41.8% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Crawford County?
46 mapped tornado paths intersect the county boundary; 37 of them touched down inside it. This is derived from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
How many federal disaster declarations cover Crawford County?
23 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Crawford County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Crawford County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Crawford County as relatively low risk, placing it in the 61 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Crawford 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
- Clinton County 578
- Dallas County 964
- Clayton County 535
- Davis County 276
- Clay County 663
- Decatur County 311
Cite this page
“Crawford County, Iowa.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/iowa/crawford-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.