O'Brien County, Iowa severe weather history spans 481 recorded events between 1951 and 2026. The dominant hazard is hail, accounting for 42.2% of all recorded events. It ranks #945 nationally and #37 in Iowa.
481
Recorded events
0
Direct deaths
2
Direct injuries
$11.7M
Property damage
The record
What the O'Brien County, Iowa severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, O'Brien County, Iowa severe weather history averages 6.4 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2000s, with 146 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 76 events fall before 1990 and 405 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The costliest is tornado, with $3.7M 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 O'Brien County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hail | 203 | 0 | $2.1M | 4 | 1965–2026 |
| Thunderstorm Wind | 171 | 0 | $2.9M | 83 | 1963–2025 |
| Flood | 51 | 0 | $2.9M | 0 | 2007–2024 |
| Tornado | 35 | 0 | $3.7M | F3 | 1951–2026 |
| Flash Flood | 19 | 0 | $100K | 0 | 2004–2025 |
| Funnel Cloud | 1 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2010–2010 |
| Heavy Rain | 1 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2011–2011 |
Decade by decade
O'Brien 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: 27 touched down inside it and 4 crossed in from a neighbouring county. This comes from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
| Date | Scale | Deaths | Injuries | Path length | Origin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1971-10-01 | EF3 | 0 | 0 | 11.2 mi | Touched down here |
| 1964-05-05 | EF3 | 0 | 7 | 67.0 mi | Crossed in |
| 2008-06-11 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 5.7 mi | Touched down here |
| 1980-07-19 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 3.3 mi | Touched down here |
| 1968-04-03 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 0.5 mi | Touched down here |
| 1965-05-05 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 21.8 mi | Touched down here |
| 2021-12-15 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 3.9 mi | Crossed in |
| 2010-06-25 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 3.3 mi | Touched down here |
| 2008-06-11 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 0.9 mi | Touched down here |
| 2001-06-13 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 7.0 mi | Touched down here |
Significant events
Deadliest events on record in O'Brien County
| Date | Type | Location | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 17, 1951 | Tornado | 0 | 2 | $0 |
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
Large hail caused widespread damage in and near Sheldon. The hail broke windows on vehicles and buildings, including 35 out of the 37 skylights on the local high school. The hail also severely dented vehicles, roofs, and siding, and caused tree damage. The hail also damaged crops near the city, but the amount of crop damage was not known.
Thunderstorm winds destroyed an airport hangar, and destroyed or damaged 5 planes in the hangar. The winds caused widespread tree damage, including numerous trees blown down or completely uprooted. The tree damage included many trees at a local golf course. The winds damaged homes and buildings in and near Sheldon, including one home that was damaged by a large falling tree. A large silo was damaged and several small farm buildings were destroyed. The farm damage included a large shed destroyed and machinery inside the shed damaged. A commercial building under construction was destroyed.
A tornado destroyed several outbuildings, moved a 1.5 ton wagon, heavily damaged a machine shed containing farm equipment and also damaged a nearby house on the same farm. Also destroyed another machine shed at a different location, destroyed a pole barn, damaged a grain bin, broke or blew down several power poles and power lines, and caused tree damage.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Very Low
FEMA NRI risk rating
14,126
Population (ACS)
$173K
Median home value
15
Federal declarations
| Declared | Incident | Title | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 24, 2024 | Severe Storm | SEVERE STORMS, FLOODING, STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS, AND TORNADOES | 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 20, 2018 | Severe Storm | SEVERE STORMS, TORNADOES, STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS, AND FLOODING | DR |
| Jul 2, 2013 | Severe Storm | SEVERE STORMS, TORNADOES, AND FLOODING | DR |
Within the county
Most affected places
- Sutherland 192
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many severe weather events have been recorded in O'Brien County, Iowa?
481 events are on record between 1951 and 2026, causing 0 direct deaths and $11.7M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in O'Brien County?
Hail, with 203 recorded events — 42.2% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed O'Brien County?
31 mapped tornado paths intersect the county boundary; 27 of them touched down inside it. This is derived from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
How many federal disaster declarations cover O'Brien County?
15 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include O'Brien County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is O'Brien County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates O'Brien County as very low risk, placing it in the 16 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the O'Brien 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
- Muscatine County 492
- Osceola County 262
- Montgomery County 278
- Page County 349
- Monroe County 228
- Palo Alto County 345
Cite this page
“O’Brien County, Iowa.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/iowa/obrien-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.