Plymouth County, Iowa severe weather history spans 692 recorded events between 1951 and 2026. The dominant hazard is hail, accounting for 40.0% of all recorded events. It ranks #411 nationally and #13 in Iowa.
692
Recorded events
0
Direct deaths
8
Direct injuries
$22.0M
Property damage
The record
What the Plymouth County, Iowa severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Plymouth County, Iowa severe weather history averages 9.2 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2000s, with 203 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 108 events fall before 1990 and 584 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The costliest is tornado, with $14.4M in reported property damage. In total, 8 distinct hazard types appear in this county archive, each listed with its own dated record below.
By hazard type
Every hazard type recorded in Plymouth County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hail | 277 | 0 | $468K | 3.5 | 1955–2026 |
| Thunderstorm Wind | 223 | 0 | $2.6M | 83 | 1960–2025 |
| Flood | 110 | 0 | $4.4M | 0 | 2006–2025 |
| Tornado | 52 | 0 | $14.4M | F3 | 1951–2024 |
| Flash Flood | 22 | 0 | $70K | 0 | 2000–2016 |
| Funnel Cloud | 4 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2009–2021 |
| Lightning | 2 | 0 | $20K | 0 | 2008–2010 |
| Heavy Rain | 2 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2001–2011 |
Decade by decade
Plymouth County, Iowa severe weather history by decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
Tornado tracks
Paths crossing this county
53 mapped tornado paths intersect this county: 46 touched down inside it and 7 crossed in from a neighbouring county. This comes from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
| Date | Scale | Deaths | Injuries | Path length | Origin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1967-06-14 | EF3 | 0 | 3 | 6.2 mi | Touched down here |
| 1965-06-07 | EF3 | 0 | 0 | 11.5 mi | Touched down here |
| 1964-05-08 | EF3 | 0 | 0 | 9.3 mi | Touched down here |
| 1964-05-05 | EF3 | 0 | 7 | 67.0 mi | Crossed in |
| 1994-06-12 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 17.5 mi | Touched down here |
| 1991-08-07 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 1.5 mi | Touched down here |
| 1991-08-07 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 8.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1978-07-05 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 20.8 mi | Crossed in |
| 1970-07-14 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 1.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1967-06-14 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 1.0 mi | Touched down here |
Significant events
Deadliest events on record in Plymouth County
| Date | Type | Location | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 15, 1967 | Tornado | 0 | 3 | $250K | |
| Jun 4, 2010 | Thunderstorm Wind | AKRON | 0 | 2 | $25K |
| Jun 9, 1963 | Tornado | 0 | 2 | $25K | |
| Aug 2, 2001 | Thunderstorm Wind | JAMES | 0 | 1 | $50K |
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
Repeated heavy rains caused record flooding of the Big Sioux River. Farmland and other lowlands including numerous roads were flooded. Some roads were damaged, and some secondary roads were washed out. Several homes, businesses, and farm buildings were flooded and damaged. A levee breach caused additional flooding in the city of Akron, forcing the evacuation of several residences on the west side of Iowa Highway 12 while the levee was being repaired. The river crested at a record 9.59 feet above flood stage at Akron on June 18th.
Thunderstorm winds caused widespread tree damage, including several trees and numerous large limbs and branches blown down. Tree debris damaged the roofs of at least three homes. The siding of a manufacturing business building was ripped off by the wind. Power lines were downed by wind and falling tree debris, resulting in power outages.
This tornado formed around 4 miles east-northeast of Moville in Woodbury County and entered Plymouth County around two miles south of Kingsley, just east of the intersection of Knox Avenue and 100th Street. Numerous large trees were snapped as the tornado entered Plymouth County. The tornado continued to travel north-northeast to a location around one mile east of Kingsley where several outbuildings were destroyed and large trees snapped. The tornado then turned to a northerly track as it crossed County Road C66, where it damaged several power poles. The tornado traveled another mile and a half parallel to Roosevelt Avenue before it destroyed a hoop barn and removed the steel roof from a corn crib, with debris scattered a half mile to the north. The tornado dissipated after another quarter mile at 1642CST. The tornado was rated EF1 while in both Woodbury and Plymouth Counties. The average path width in Plymouth County was 50 yards and the maximum estimated wind speed was 105 mph. Property damage costs are a rough estimate.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Relatively Low
FEMA NRI risk rating
25,747
Population (ACS)
$229K
Median home value
16
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 |
| Jul 24, 2014 | Flood | 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
- Akron 186
- Westfield 186
- Millnerville 113
- Le Mars 100
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many severe weather events have been recorded in Plymouth County, Iowa?
692 events are on record between 1951 and 2026, causing 0 direct deaths and $22.0M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Plymouth County?
Hail, with 277 recorded events — 40.0% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Plymouth County?
53 mapped tornado paths intersect the county boundary; 46 of them touched down inside it. This is derived from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
How many federal disaster declarations cover Plymouth County?
16 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Plymouth County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Plymouth County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Plymouth County as relatively low risk, placing it in the 49 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Plymouth 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
- Palo Alto County 345
- Pocahontas County 356
- Page County 349
- Polk County 2,151
- Osceola County 262
- Pottawattamie County 564
Cite this page
“Plymouth County, Iowa.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/iowa/plymouth-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.