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Guthrie County, Iowa severe weather history spans 515 recorded events between 1963 and 2025. The dominant hazard is hail, accounting for 43.3% of all recorded events. It ranks #822 nationally and #29 in Iowa.
515
Recorded events
0
Direct deaths
1
Direct injuries
$14.0M
Property damage
The record
What the Guthrie County, Iowa severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Guthrie County, Iowa severe weather history averages 8.3 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2010s, with 214 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 32 events fall before 1990 and 483 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The costliest is tornado, with $7.3M 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 Guthrie County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hail | 223 | 0 | $1.4M | 4.5 | 1963–2025 |
| Thunderstorm Wind | 155 | 0 | $1.7M | 80 | 1964–2025 |
| Heavy Rain | 43 | 0 | $35K | 0 | 2008–2025 |
| Flash Flood | 41 | 0 | $1.8M | 0 | 1998–2024 |
| Tornado | 31 | 0 | $7.3M | F4 | 1963–2021 |
| Flood | 14 | 0 | $1.5M | 0 | 1998–2022 |
| Funnel Cloud | 5 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2015–2018 |
| Lightning | 3 | 0 | $170K | 0 | 2011–2011 |
Decade by decade
Guthrie County, Iowa severe weather history by decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
Tornado tracks
Paths crossing this county
31 mapped tornado paths intersect this county: 28 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1995-05-27 | EF4 | 0 | 2 | 57.0 mi | Crossed in |
| 1995-05-27 | EF4 | 0 | 1 | 30.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1959-05-10 | EF4 | 0 | 1 | 41.1 mi | Crossed in |
| 2019-05-22 | EF2 | 1 | 1 | 4.8 mi | Crossed in |
| 2021-12-15 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 23.4 mi | Touched down here |
| 2021-12-15 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 19.7 mi | Touched down here |
| 2021-12-15 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 30.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 2014-05-11 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 10.4 mi | Touched down here |
| 1986-06-29 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 1.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1986-06-29 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 2.0 mi | Touched down here |
Significant events
Deadliest events on record in Guthrie County
| Date | Type | Location | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 28, 1995 | Tornado | Bayard | 0 | 1 | $2.0M |
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
This tornado developed in west central Guthrie county to the west southwest of Wichita. The tornado moved northeast producing EF0 and EF1 damage to trees and outbuildings in rural portions of northwest Guthrie County. The storm passed along the southeast edge of Bayard taking a roof off a house and demolishing a garage on another house. This damage was rated EF2. The tornado exited the county shortly thereafter into Greene County.
Emergency Manager reported Highway 141 closed southeast of Coon Rapids, and may need to be closed near Bagley shortly. County Road P18 closed north of Bagley. Authorities are limiting access to Bayard. Extensive flooding across northern Guthrie county.
The tornado touched down north of Guthrie Center and promptly destroyed an outbuilding along State Highway 25. The tornado continued northeast through wooded areas west of Springbrook State Park with some tree and minor house damage. The tornado then emerged into more open cropland producing damage to a hog confinement and snapping large utility poles along 120th Street west of Quail Road. The circulation passed west of Bagley and tipped over a semi on State Highway 141 and continued northeast before moving out of the county into Greene County.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Very Low
FEMA NRI risk rating
10,688
Population (ACS)
$180K
Median home value
17
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 31, 2015 | Severe Storm | SEVERE STORMS, TORNADOES, STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS, AND FLOODING | DR |
Within the county
Most affected places
- Guthrie Center 104
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many severe weather events have been recorded in Guthrie County, Iowa?
515 events are on record between 1963 and 2025, causing 0 direct deaths and $14.0M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Guthrie County?
Hail, with 223 recorded events — 43.3% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Guthrie County?
31 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 Guthrie County?
17 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Guthrie County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Guthrie County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Guthrie County as very low risk, placing it in the 27 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Guthrie 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
- Grundy County 350
- Hamilton County 438
- Greene County 335
- Hancock County 318
- Fremont County 361
- Hardin County 469
Cite this page
“Guthrie County, Iowa.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/iowa/guthrie-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.