Greene County, Iowa severe weather history spans 335 recorded events between 1954 and 2025. The dominant hazard is hail, accounting for 36.1% of all recorded events. It ranks #1,579 nationally and #71 in Iowa.
335
Recorded events
4
Direct deaths
2
Direct injuries
$7.2M
Property damage
The record
What the Greene County, Iowa severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Greene County, Iowa severe weather history averages 4.7 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2010s, with 112 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 40 events fall before 1990 and 295 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The deadliest hazard in the Greene County, Iowa record is hail, responsible for 4 direct deaths. The costliest is tornado, with $3.9M in reported property damage. In total, 7 distinct hazard types appear in this county archive, each listed with its own dated record below.
By hazard type
Every hazard type recorded in Greene County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hail | 121 | 4 | $504K | 2.75 | 1960–2024 |
| Thunderstorm Wind | 117 | 0 | $1.1M | 75 | 1958–2025 |
| Heavy Rain | 37 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2008–2024 |
| Tornado | 30 | 0 | $3.9M | F2 | 1954–2023 |
| Flash Flood | 14 | 0 | $705K | 0 | 2001–2015 |
| Flood | 13 | 0 | $1.0M | 0 | 1998–2019 |
| Funnel Cloud | 3 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 1996–1996 |
Decade by decade
Greene 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: 28 touched down inside it and 8 crossed in from a neighbouring county. This comes from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
| Date | Scale | Deaths | Injuries | Path length | Origin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1995-05-27 | EF4 | 0 | 1 | 30.0 mi | Crossed in |
| 1959-05-10 | EF4 | 0 | 1 | 41.1 mi | Crossed in |
| 2021-12-15 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 5.5 mi | Touched down here |
| 2021-12-15 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 18.8 mi | Touched down here |
| 2021-12-15 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 19.7 mi | Crossed in |
| 2021-12-15 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 5.8 mi | Touched down here |
| 2021-12-15 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 30.0 mi | Crossed in |
| 2021-12-15 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 2.7 mi | Touched down here |
| 2021-12-15 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 23.4 mi | Crossed in |
| 2021-12-15 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 17.7 mi | Touched down here |
Significant events
Deadliest events on record in Greene County
| Date | Type | Location | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 17, 1991 | Hail | 4 | 0 | $0 | |
| Jun 7, 1971 | Tornado | 0 | 1 | $250K | |
| Apr 5, 1954 | 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
This tornado occurred southwest of Jefferson and remained in rural Greene County during its entire path. The tornado damaged a confinement building and farther northeast destroyed an outbuilding. However, the most intense damage was a series of high voltage utility dual pole towers which were snapped by the tornado. At least 8 towers were snapped over J Avenue between 250th and 260th Streets. Additional utility poles were snapped along 250th Street as well. The tornado lifted in the vicinity of an apple orchard located southwest of Jefferson.
Tornado moved into Greene County from Guthrie County. This tornado produced damage through rural south and east portions of the county. The tornado passed just southeast of the hamlet of Cooper and through Grand Junction. Most of the damage was EF0 to EF1 with tree and minor house damage. However, the tornado strengthened north of Grand Junction with power pole damage and then toppling an industrial wind mill along W Avenue with an EF2 rating at that location. The circulation then destroyed a confinement building before dissipating several miles northeast of Dana.
Another QLCS tornado which began west southwest of Jefferson and ended to the northwest of town. This tornado began in rural areas but toppled several large single pole utility poles along I Avenue south of 250th Street and moved northeast with tree and minor house damage on 240th Street near the intersection with K Avenue. The tornado ended up crossing US Highway 30 about 1.5 miles west of the intersection with State Highway 4 and severely leaned high voltage poles along the highway. The tornado dissipated not long afterwards near M Avenue north of Highway 30.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Very Low
FEMA NRI risk rating
8,688
Population (ACS)
$155K
Median home value
19
Federal declarations
| Declared | Incident | Title | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| Feb 23, 2022 | Severe Storm | SEVERE STORMS, STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS, AND TORNADOES | DR |
| Aug 17, 2020 | Severe Storm | SEVERE STORMS | 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 |
| Jul 2, 2013 | Severe Storm | SEVERE STORMS, TORNADOES, AND FLOODING | DR |
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many severe weather events have been recorded in Greene County, Iowa?
335 events are on record between 1954 and 2025, causing 4 direct deaths and $7.2M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Greene County?
Hail, with 121 recorded events — 36.1% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Greene County?
36 mapped tornado paths intersect the county boundary; 28 of them touched down inside it. This is derived from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
How many federal disaster declarations cover Greene County?
19 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Greene County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Greene County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Greene County as very low risk, placing it in the 32 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Greene 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
- Fremont County 361
- Grundy County 350
- Franklin County 366
- Guthrie County 515
- Floyd County 424
- Hamilton County 438
Cite this page
“Greene County, Iowa.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/iowa/greene-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.