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Montgomery County, Iowa severe weather history spans 278 recorded events between 1950 and 2026. The dominant hazard is hail, accounting for 43.9% of all recorded events. It ranks #1,910 nationally and #91 in Iowa.
278
Recorded events
0
Direct deaths
1
Direct injuries
$3.2M
Property damage
The record
What the Montgomery County, Iowa severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Montgomery County, Iowa severe weather history averages 3.7 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2010s, with 80 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 41 events fall before 1990 and 237 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The costliest is tornado, with $1.5M 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 Montgomery County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hail | 122 | 0 | $90K | 3 | 1970–2026 |
| Thunderstorm Wind | 91 | 0 | $55K | 80 | 1959–2025 |
| Tornado | 30 | 0 | $1.5M | F3 | 1950–2024 |
| Flood | 17 | 0 | $410K | 0 | 2007–2019 |
| Flash Flood | 8 | 0 | $1.2M | 0 | 1999–2019 |
| Heavy Rain | 8 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2011–2019 |
| Funnel Cloud | 2 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2024–2024 |
Decade by decade
Montgomery County, Iowa severe weather history by decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
Tornado tracks
Paths crossing this county
29 mapped tornado paths intersect this county: 26 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024-05-21 | EF3 | 0 | 0 | 33.9 mi | Crossed in |
| 1974-05-13 | EF3 | 0 | 0 | 10.9 mi | Touched down here |
| 2007-05-05 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 4.8 mi | Touched down here |
| 2007-05-05 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 6.8 mi | Touched down here |
| 1959-05-10 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 1.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1950-05-08 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 0.1 mi | Touched down here |
| 2024-05-21 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 2.9 mi | Touched down here |
| 2016-04-27 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 1.7 mi | Touched down here |
| 2007-05-06 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 7.4 mi | Touched down here |
| 1999-04-08 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 8.0 mi | Touched down here |
Significant events
Deadliest events on record in Montgomery County
| Date | Type | Location | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 21, 1964 | 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 rain for the second consecutive night caused flash flooding along Red Oak Creek in Red Oak as the creek backed up because of high flows on the East Nishnabotna River. Authorities attempted to evacuate nearly 1,600 people, beginning around 300 am local time, although not every attempt was successful. The water caused extensive damage to many basements in town, but no serious injuries were reported. In total an estimated 50 homes were damaged by flooding.
Heavy rain and rapid snow melt caused the East Nishnabotna River and Red Oak Creek to flood. Several roads were closed due to high water across Montgomery County. Multiple roadways near Stennett were overcome by water on the 14th. The west side of Coburg was under water.
Heavy rainfall over the weekend of May 4th through the 6th, caused the East Nishnabotna River to flood across Montgomery county. The flooding closed Highway 34 near Red Oak for a while on Monday May 7th. The East Nishnabotna River at Red Oak crested around 26.4 feet about 9 am cdt on May 7th. Flood stage is 18 feet. The river at Red Oak first crossed flood stage around 6 am cdt May 6th and didn't drop below flood stage until late morning on the 8th.|Besides the flood waters closing Highway 34 near Red Oak, Highway 48 around Elliott was also closed due to flooding. In addition, farmland and many county roads in the area were flooded from around Elliott through Red Oak and toward Coburg. It was estimated that damage to county roads alone amounted to $150,000.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Very Low
FEMA NRI risk rating
10,214
Population (ACS)
$121K
Median home value
20
Federal declarations
| Declared | Incident | Title | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| May 24, 2024 | Severe Storm | SEVERE STORMS, TORNADOES, AND FLOODING | 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 14, 2014 | Severe Storm | SEVERE STORMS, TORNADOES, STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS, AND FLOODING | DR |
| Jul 29, 2010 | Severe Storm | SEVERE STORMS, FLOODING, AND TORNADOES | DR |
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many severe weather events have been recorded in Montgomery County, Iowa?
278 events are on record between 1950 and 2026, causing 0 direct deaths and $3.2M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Montgomery County?
Hail, with 122 recorded events — 43.9% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Montgomery County?
29 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 Montgomery County?
20 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Montgomery County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Montgomery County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Montgomery County as very low risk, placing it in the 34 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Montgomery 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
- Monroe County 228
- Muscatine County 492
- Monona County 337
- O'Brien County 481
- Mitchell County 290
- Osceola County 262
Cite this page
“Montgomery County, Iowa.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/iowa/montgomery-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.