48
Recorded events
1
Direct deaths
10
Direct injuries
$33.7M
Property damage
Tornado in Tama County, Iowa: 48 recorded events between 1953 and 2022. The strongest on record measured F4. That places the county #414 nationally and #15 statewide for this hazard.
Decade by decade
Tornado in Tama County, Iowa: events per decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
The busiest decade for tornado in Tama County is the 1970s, when 11 of the county's 48 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 Tama County archive, tornado makes up 11.1% of all recorded severe weather across 8 hazard types. Nationally the county sits at #414 for this hazard and #15 within Iowa, putting it in the 85.9 percentile of all U.S. counties.
Seasonality
Events by month
Jun is the peak month for tornado in Tama County with 16 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.
Tornado tracks
Paths crossing this county
| Date | Scale | Path length | Max width | Origin |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1989-05-24 | EF4 | 66.0 mi | 150 yd | Crossed in |
| 1961-04-23 | EF3 | 87.7 mi | 800 yd | Crossed in |
| 1977-05-04 | EF3 | 17.8 mi | 30 yd | Touched down here |
| 1975-11-09 | EF3 | 39.4 mi | 10 yd | Touched down here |
| 1971-05-31 | EF3 | 9.4 mi | 600 yd | Touched down here |
| 1966-04-19 | EF3 | 27.1 mi | 400 yd | Crossed in |
| 2022-03-05 | EF2 | 17.3 mi | 500 yd | Crossed in |
| 2022-03-05 | EF2 | 8.5 mi | 200 yd | Touched down here |
| 2014-06-30 | EF2 | 3.7 mi | 150 yd | Touched down here |
| 2001-05-10 | EF2 | 8.0 mi | 875 yd | Crossed in |
Significant events
Deadliest on record
| Date | Location | Scale | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 23, 1961 | F3 | 1 | 6 | $2.5M | |
| Apr 20, 1966 | F3 | 0 | 4 | $250K |
Most recent
Latest recorded events
| Date | Location | Magnitude | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mar 6, 2022 | TAMA ARPT | EF2 | $200K |
| Mar 6, 2022 | MONTOUR | EF0 | $500 |
| Jul 15, 2021 | DYSART | EF1 | $25K |
| Aug 10, 2020 | GLADBROOK | EFU | $0 |
| Oct 9, 2018 | HAVEN | EF0 | $0 |
| Jul 7, 2014 | BUCKINGHAM | EF1 | $25K |
| Jul 7, 2014 | LINCOLN | EF0 | $0 |
| Jun 30, 2014 | TRAER | EF2 | $150K |
| Jun 21, 2011 | CLUTIER | EF0 | $75K |
| Jul 17, 2006 | TAMA | F0 | $1K |
Other hazards here
More from Tama County
- Thunderstorm Wind 153
- Hail 109
- Heavy Rain 56
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
This tornado was the next in a series of tornadoes from the same supercell which tracked across central Iowa on this day. It formed southwest of the intersection of 370th Street and H Avenue and moved northeast. While remaining mostly over cropland and wooded areas, the tornado did impact a couple different residences with EF1 damage to outbuildings along Highway 63 south of Tama and then EF2 damage to a house on Highway E64 southeast of Tama where the roof was removed. Several cars were also tossed around at this location. The tornado then moved into the Iowa River valley producing tree damage with the tornado dissipating just shy of Highway 30 near P Avenue.
A farm site on Highway V18 had tree tops snapped off. Minor damage occurred to the house with a gutter blown onto a truck. The roof was off of an outbuilding. The narrow damage path was very localized. In the town of Cluttier, one half mile to the southwest, large tree limbs were down. Debris and corn was directed to the north, consistent with small tornadic circulation at the farm site with EF0 damage.
Tornado developed near the southwest corner of Dysart and moved east southeast. The tornado had a very broad circulation with smaller vorticies embedded within the larger circulation. The tornado produced mostly EF0 damage with some EF1 damage to houses on the far southwest side of town. The remainder of the path was in agricultural fields to the south of town. The tornado then moved from Tama county into Benton county.
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many tornado events are on record in Tama County, Iowa?
48 tornado events are recorded in Tama County between 1953 and 2022, causing 1 direct deaths.
What is the strongest tornado recorded in Tama County?
The strongest tornado on record in Tama County measured F4.
Where does the tornado data for Tama 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
“Tornado in Tama County, Iowa.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/iowa/tama-county/tornado/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.