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Iowa County, Iowa severe weather history spans 368 recorded events between 1953 and 2026. The dominant hazard is thunderstorm wind, accounting for 38.0% of all recorded events. It ranks #1,391 nationally and #61 in Iowa.
368
Recorded events
0
Direct deaths
22
Direct injuries
$38.5M
Property damage
The record
What the Iowa County, Iowa severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Iowa County, Iowa severe weather history averages 5.0 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2010s, with 123 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 49 events fall before 1990 and 319 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The costliest is tornado, with $29.8M in reported property damage. In total, 9 distinct hazard types appear in this county archive, each listed with its own dated record below.
By hazard type
Every hazard type recorded in Iowa County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thunderstorm Wind | 140 | 0 | $996K | 78 | 1960–2026 |
| Hail | 125 | 0 | $2.6M | 2.75 | 1971–2024 |
| Flash Flood | 37 | 0 | $1.4M | 5 | 1997–2025 |
| Tornado | 34 | 0 | $29.8M | F4 | 1953–2023 |
| Flood | 21 | 0 | $3.7M | 0 | 2001–2020 |
| Funnel Cloud | 4 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2001–2008 |
| Heavy Rain | 4 | 0 | $0 | 3 | 2004–2008 |
| Lightning | 2 | 0 | $65K | 0 | 1996–2011 |
| Winter Weather | 1 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2001–2001 |
Decade by decade
Iowa 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: 26 touched down inside it and 10 crossed in from a neighbouring county. This comes from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
| Date | Scale | Deaths | Injuries | Path length | Origin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1984-06-07 | EF4 | 3 | 64 | 134.0 mi | Crossed in |
| 1974-08-12 | EF4 | 0 | 2 | 2.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1965-04-23 | EF3 | 0 | 1 | 47.4 mi | Crossed in |
| 2011-05-22 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 3.9 mi | Touched down here |
| 1991-04-27 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 4.5 mi | Crossed in |
| 1988-05-08 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 59.0 mi | Crossed in |
| 1973-04-21 | EF2 | 0 | 6 | 13.2 mi | Touched down here |
| 1954-04-30 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 65.8 mi | Touched down here |
| 1953-06-07 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 116.0 mi | Crossed in |
| 2014-04-27 | EF1 | 2 | 0 | 45.7 mi | Crossed in |
Significant events
Deadliest events on record in Iowa County
| Date | Type | Location | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 29, 1998 | Thunderstorm Wind | COUNTYWIDE | 0 | 9 | $800K |
| Apr 21, 1973 | Tornado | 0 | 6 | $0 | |
| Aug 5, 1989 | Thunderstorm Wind | 0 | 2 | $0 | |
| Aug 13, 1974 | Tornado | 0 | 2 | $250K | |
| May 26, 2008 | Thunderstorm Wind | MILLERSBURG | 0 | 1 | $10K |
| Sep 8, 2001 | Thunderstorm Wind | WILLIAMSBURG | 0 | 1 | $0 |
| Jun 14, 2001 | Thunderstorm Wind | VICTOR | 0 | 1 | $0 |
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
Eight to 12 inches of rain fell in the Marengo area, causing widespread major flash flooding throughout town. Water covered numerous roads, closing them or making them completely impassable. Some homes were surrounded by water up to 3 feet deep. The National Guard was activated to pump water from the town. Due to incredible local run-off, the Iowa River in Marengo rose from 11.4 feet to 17 feet in just 5 hours. (Flood stage is 14 feet.) The river eventually crested at 17.46 feet the morning of the 23rd. Some residents described the flooding of the town as worse than 1993, and in fact worse than had been seen for more than 40 years.
Heavy rains during the third week of June resulted in the Iowa River at Marengo going above the moderate flood stage level of 15.5 feet on June 14th around 11 pm. It crested around 17.5 feet around 100 am June 24. It remained above the moderate flood stage level through the end of June.
Heavy rains during the second week of May resulted in the Iowa River at Marengo going above the moderate flood stage level of 15.5 feet on May 13th around 800 am. It crested around 16.5 feet around 100 am May 19. It fell below the moderate flood stage level around 100 am May 22.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Very Low
FEMA NRI risk rating
16,507
Population (ACS)
$194K
Median home value
23
Federal declarations
| Declared | Incident | Title | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| May 24, 2024 | Severe Storm | SEVERE STORMS, TORNADOES, AND FLOODING | 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 |
| Aug 5, 2014 | Severe Storm | SEVERE STORMS, TORNADOES, STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS, AND FLOODING | DR |
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many severe weather events have been recorded in Iowa County, Iowa?
368 events are on record between 1953 and 2026, causing 0 direct deaths and $38.5M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Iowa County?
Thunderstorm Wind, with 140 recorded events — 38.0% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Iowa County?
36 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 Iowa County?
23 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Iowa County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Iowa County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Iowa County as very low risk, placing it in the 28 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Iowa 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
- Ida County 262
- Jackson County 329
- Humboldt County 312
- Jasper County 577
- Howard County 309
- Jefferson County 256
Cite this page
“Iowa County, Iowa.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/iowa/iowa-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.