729
Recorded events
1
Direct deaths
44
Direct injuries
$75.3M
Property damage
Thunderstorm Wind in Polk County, Iowa: 729 recorded events between 1955 and 2025. The strongest on record measured 104. That places the county #28 nationally and #1 statewide for this hazard.
Decade by decade
Thunderstorm Wind in Polk County, Iowa: events per decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
The busiest decade for thunderstorm wind in Polk County is the 2010s, when 235 of the county's 729 recorded events were logged. Comparing decades is useful for spotting active periods, but the earliest years are thin because systematic reporting for this hazard began later.
Within the Polk County archive, thunderstorm wind makes up 33.9% of all recorded severe weather across 9 hazard types. Nationally the county sits at #28 for this hazard and #1 within Iowa, putting it in the 99.2 percentile of all U.S. counties.
Seasonality
Events by month
Jun is the peak month for thunderstorm wind in Polk County with 195 recorded events, while Feb is the quietest. Seasonality here is a property of the archive as much as the climate: reports cluster where population and spotter networks are densest.
Significant events
Deadliest on record
| Date | Location | Scale | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 17, 2014 | DES MOINES | 56 | 1 | 0 | $1K |
| Jun 29, 1998 | DES MOINES | 104 | 0 | 40 | $40.0M |
| Jun 18, 2009 | ANKENY | 52 | 0 | 3 | $0 |
| May 20, 2013 | POLK CITY | 52 | 0 | 1 | $0 |
Most recent
Latest recorded events
| Date | Location | Magnitude | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 30, 2025 | CAPITOL HGTS | 56 | $50K |
| Jul 28, 2025 | URBANDALE | 50 | $2K |
| Jul 24, 2025 | BONDURANT | 55 | $7K |
| Jul 24, 2025 | ELKHART | 53 | $0 |
| Jul 11, 2025 | ELKHART | 58 | $0 |
| Jul 11, 2025 | ALTOONA | 61 | $0 |
| Jul 11, 2025 | SWANWOOD | 52 | $0 |
| Jul 11, 2025 | AVON | 64 | $700 |
| Jul 11, 2025 | (DSM)DES MOINES INTL | 64 | $0 |
| Jul 11, 2025 | CLOVER HILLS | 56 | $0 |
Other hazards here
More from Polk County
- Hail 670
- Heavy Rain 348
- Flood 150
- Flash Flood 118
- Tornado 68
- Lightning 42
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
Corrugated steel roof from a house was ripped off and thrown approximately 110 meters. A section of the roof impaled the side of a neighboring house, with part of the metal roof sticking into the living room of the house.
NWS employee reported 4-5 snapped power poles along frontage road west of Merle Hay between Meredith and the Chapel Hill Gardens Cemetery. At least 2 snapped 1/3 to 1/2 up the pole, may have been more snapped, but uncertain.
Public reported a couple large tree limbs down with one estimated around a foot in diameter falling and damaging a chain link fence on Wade St. Another 5 inch diameter tree branch was down on Mason Ave from the storm. Time estimated from radar.
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many thunderstorm wind events are on record in Polk County, Iowa?
729 thunderstorm wind events are recorded in Polk County between 1955 and 2025, causing 1 direct deaths.
What is the strongest thunderstorm wind recorded in Polk County?
The strongest thunderstorm wind on record in Polk County measured 104.
Where does the thunderstorm wind data for Polk County come from?
All events come from the NOAA/NCEI Storm Events Database, the federal public-domain archive of severe weather reports. Dates are UTC, damage is as reported and not inflation-adjusted, and the most recent entries may still be revised.
Cite this page
“Thunderstorm Wind in Polk County, Iowa.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/iowa/polk-county/thunderstorm-wind/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.