130
Recorded events
0
Direct deaths
0
Direct injuries
$1.2M
Property damage
Thunderstorm Wind in Shelby County, Iowa: 130 recorded events between 1956 and 2025. The strongest on record measured 83. That places the county #1,789 nationally and #62 statewide for this hazard.
Decade by decade
Thunderstorm Wind in Shelby County, Iowa: events per decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
The busiest decade for thunderstorm wind in Shelby County is the 2010s, when 40 of the county's 130 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 Shelby County archive, thunderstorm wind makes up 42.9% of all recorded severe weather across 6 hazard types. Nationally the county sits at #1,789 for this hazard and #62 within Iowa, putting it in the 43.0 percentile of all U.S. counties.
Seasonality
Events by month
Jul is the peak month for thunderstorm wind in Shelby County with 37 recorded events, while Jan 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.
Most recent
Latest recorded events
| Date | Location | Magnitude | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 9, 2025 | DEFIANCE | 83 | $0 |
| Jul 30, 2025 | WESTPHALIA | 61 | $0 |
| Jul 11, 2025 | CORLEY | 59 | $0 |
| Jun 26, 2024 | HARLAN | 63 | $0 |
| Jun 26, 2024 | HARLAN | 54 | $0 |
| May 24, 2024 | KIRKMAN | 56 | $0 |
| May 24, 2024 | HARLAN | 56 | $0 |
| May 24, 2024 | HARLAN | 61 | $0 |
| May 7, 2024 | HARLAN | 56 | $0 |
| May 7, 2024 | SHELBY | 58 | $0 |
Other hazards here
More from Shelby County
- Hail 133
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
A 1200 yard wide swath of damaging thunderstorm winds began 2.75 miles northwest of Walnut near the Pottawattamie-Shelby County line . Winds were estimated to be as high as 90 mph. Severely damaged or destroyed sheds and barns occurred. Some large trees were snapped. The wind damage ended approximately 9 miles southeast of Harlan.
Thunderstorm winds were measured at 65 mph a few miles northwest of Harlan. The winds flattened grain bins in the area and a couple of outbuildings were destroyed. A thousand gallon propane tank was moved around 10 feet by the winds.
Thunderstorm wind gusts were measured at 60 mph by weather equipment at a Coop observers house 1 mile north of Harlan and at 68 mph by the Awos at the Harlan airport. The strong winds downed some large tree limbs in town.
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many thunderstorm wind events are on record in Shelby County, Iowa?
130 thunderstorm wind events are recorded in Shelby County between 1956 and 2025, causing 0 direct deaths.
What is the strongest thunderstorm wind recorded in Shelby County?
The strongest thunderstorm wind on record in Shelby County measured 83.
Where does the thunderstorm wind data for Shelby 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 Shelby County, Iowa.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/iowa/shelby-county/thunderstorm-wind/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.