111
Recorded events
0
Direct deaths
1
Direct injuries
$2.8M
Property damage
Thunderstorm Wind in Howard County, Iowa: 111 recorded events between 1962 and 2025. The strongest on record measured 85. That places the county #2,069 nationally and #78 statewide for this hazard.
Decade by decade
Thunderstorm Wind in Howard County, Iowa: events per decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
The busiest decade for thunderstorm wind in Howard County is the 2010s, when 30 of the county's 111 recorded events were logged. Comparing decades is useful for spotting active periods, but the earliest years are thin because systematic reporting for this hazard began later.
Within the Howard County archive, thunderstorm wind makes up 35.9% of all recorded severe weather across 8 hazard types. Nationally the county sits at #2,069 for this hazard and #78 within Iowa, putting it in the 34.3 percentile of all U.S. counties.
Seasonality
Events by month
Jun is the peak month for thunderstorm wind in Howard County with 30 recorded events, while Jan is the quietest. Seasonality here is a property of the archive as much as the climate: reports cluster where population and spotter networks are densest.
Significant events
Deadliest on record
| Date | Location | Scale | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 24, 2009 | CRESCO MUNI ARPT | 55 | 0 | 1 | $10K |
Most recent
Latest recorded events
| Date | Location | Magnitude | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 29, 2025 | CRESCO MUNI ARPT | 52 | $0 |
| Jul 3, 2025 | CHESTER | 45 | $0 |
| Mar 15, 2025 | RICEVILLE | 55 | $5K |
| Aug 30, 2024 | LIME SPGS | 60 | $60K |
| Aug 30, 2024 | ELMA | 60 | $0 |
| Aug 6, 2024 | LOURDES | 50 | $0 |
| Jun 12, 2024 | ELMA | 52 | $0 |
| Jun 4, 2024 | LIME SPGS | 60 | $15K |
| Jun 4, 2024 | ELMA | 60 | $15K |
| May 31, 2022 | SARATOGA | 54 | $0 |
Other hazards here
More from Howard County
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
An apparent downburst hit the parking lot of Featherlite Trailers damaging 36 trailers. Many of them were tossed into the air or into other trailers. The damage occurred after security had left the facility and was found the next morning. Although not impossible, there was not ample evidence to document this as a brief tornado touchdown.
Storms blew the roof off a car dealership with debris blown several blocks. At a nearby restaurant, picnic tables were lifted, windows busted and trees blown down. Signs for area businesses were also destroyed. A wholesale greenhouse had most of the glass panels on the roof of one building destroyed where the winds may have been locally higher. Another business close to the greenhouse also had the roof destroyed.
In Davis Corners, trees were blown down, a shed was demolished, an outbuilding had the front overhead door blown in along with a wall and backdoor blown out. The roof on a house was totaled by the winds. Another business had a metal building with several puncture holes from flying debris and had an outbuilding blown down.
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many thunderstorm wind events are on record in Howard County, Iowa?
111 thunderstorm wind events are recorded in Howard County between 1962 and 2025, causing 0 direct deaths.
What is the strongest thunderstorm wind recorded in Howard County?
The strongest thunderstorm wind on record in Howard County measured 85.
Where does the thunderstorm wind data for Howard County come from?
All events come from the NOAA/NCEI Storm Events Database, the federal public-domain archive of severe weather reports. Dates are UTC, damage is as reported and not inflation-adjusted, and the most recent entries may still be revised.
Cite this page
“Thunderstorm Wind in Howard County, Iowa.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/iowa/howard-county/thunderstorm-wind/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.