Live
Active alerts for this county
Extreme Heat Warning
Iowa; Johnson; Cedar; Muscatine; Scott; Keokuk; Washington; Louisa; Jefferson; Henry; Des Moines; Van Buren; Lee; Rock Island; Henry; Bureau; Putnam; Mercer; Henderson; Warren; Hancock; McDonough; Scotland; Clark
Keokuk County, Iowa severe weather history spans 282 recorded events between 1959 and 2026. The dominant hazard is thunderstorm wind, accounting for 48.6% of all recorded events. It ranks #1,883 nationally and #90 in Iowa.
282
Recorded events
3
Direct deaths
43
Direct injuries
$35.5M
Property damage
The record
What the Keokuk County, Iowa severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Keokuk County, Iowa severe weather history averages 4.2 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2010s, with 94 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 46 events fall before 1990 and 236 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The deadliest hazard in the Keokuk County, Iowa record is tornado, responsible for 3 direct deaths. The costliest is tornado, with $29.6M 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 Keokuk County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thunderstorm Wind | 137 | 0 | $856K | 78 | 1960–2025 |
| Hail | 71 | 0 | $1.0M | 3 | 1960–2026 |
| Tornado | 31 | 3 | $29.6M | F4 | 1959–2024 |
| Flood | 22 | 0 | $3.8M | 0 | 1998–2019 |
| Flash Flood | 15 | 0 | $125K | 0 | 1997–2024 |
| Lightning | 2 | 0 | $27K | 0 | 2007–2018 |
| Funnel Cloud | 2 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 1999–1999 |
| Heavy Rain | 1 | 0 | $2K | 0.6 | 2003–2003 |
| Winter Weather | 1 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2001–2001 |
Decade by decade
Keokuk County, Iowa severe weather history by decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
Tornado tracks
Paths crossing this county
34 mapped tornado paths intersect this county: 28 touched down inside it and 6 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 |
| 2023-03-31 | EF4 | 0 | 3 | 19.9 mi | Touched down here |
| 2023-03-31 | EF3 | 0 | 0 | 26.1 mi | Crossed in |
| 1965-09-20 | EF3 | 0 | 4 | 1.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1959-05-09 | EF3 | 0 | 0 | 6.6 mi | Touched down here |
| 1989-04-27 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 18.0 mi | Crossed in |
| 1988-05-08 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 36.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1984-06-07 | EF2 | 0 | 1 | 24.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1956-08-18 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 11.5 mi | Crossed in |
| 2014-04-27 | EF1 | 2 | 0 | 45.7 mi | Crossed in |
Significant events
Deadliest events on record in Keokuk County
| Date | Type | Location | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 27, 2014 | Tornado | MARTINSBURG | 2 | 0 | $0 |
| Jun 8, 1984 | Tornado | 1 | 33 | $25.0M | |
| Sep 21, 1965 | Tornado | 0 | 4 | $250K | |
| Mar 31, 2023 | Tornado | TALLEYRAND | 0 | 3 | $0 |
| Apr 27, 2014 | Thunderstorm Wind | MARTINSBURG | 0 | 1 | $0 |
| Jun 8, 1984 | Tornado | 0 | 1 | $2.5M | |
| Jul 7, 1982 | 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
Heavy rains during the second and third weeks of June resulted in the Skunk River at Sigourney going above the moderate flood stage level of 18 feet on June 12 around 11 pm. It crested above major flood stage around 22.2 feet at 7 am June 16. After falling below the moderate flood stage on the 23rd, it rose back above it on the afternoon of the 26th. It crested again at 18.2 feet at 1 am June 27. It fell below the moderate flood stage level around 4 am June 27.
Heavy rains during the second week of May resulted in the Skunk River at Sigourney going above the moderate flood stage level of 18 feet on May 13 around 5 am. It crested several times between 19.1 and 19.3 feet from 7pm May 13 to 1 pm May 16. It finally fell below the moderate flood stage level around 9 pm May 17.
Heavy rains during the last week of April resulted in the North Skunk River at Sigourney going above the moderate flood stage level of 18 feet on April 30th around 11 am. It crested around 19.17 feet around 8:45 pm April 30. It fell below the moderate flood stage level around 6 pm on May 1.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Very Low
FEMA NRI risk rating
9,924
Population (ACS)
$119K
Median home value
19
Federal declarations
| Declared | Incident | Title | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| 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 |
| Jul 2, 2013 | Severe Storm | SEVERE STORMS, TORNADOES, AND FLOODING | DR |
| May 31, 2013 | Flood | SEVERE STORMS, STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS, AND FLOODING | DR |
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many severe weather events have been recorded in Keokuk County, Iowa?
282 events are on record between 1959 and 2026, causing 3 direct deaths and $35.5M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Keokuk County?
Thunderstorm Wind, with 137 recorded events — 48.6% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Keokuk County?
34 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 Keokuk County?
19 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Keokuk County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Keokuk County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Keokuk County as very low risk, placing it in the 22 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Keokuk 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
- Jones County 491
- Kossuth County 568
- Johnson County 652
- Lee County 530
- Jefferson County 256
- Linn County 1,170
Cite this page
“Keokuk County, Iowa.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/iowa/keokuk-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.