Tornado and Hail in Iowa, May 18, 1959

Name: Tornado and Hail in Iowa, May 18, 1959
Start: 1959-05-18T13:05
End: 1959-05-18T15:30
Location: Iowa

May 18, 1959 · 5 events in 4 counties and zones

2 thunderstorm wind, 2 hail, 1 tornado, as filed by the National Weather Service.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it. Tap one for its entry below.

Tornadoes
Tropical storms and surge
Floods
Wind
Hail
Winter weather
Heat and drought
Cold
Fire, smoke and dust
Marine and coastal
Other

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The toll

Deaths: 0
Injuries: 0
Property damage: $250,000
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 5

Deaths and injuries are direct and indirect together, as the offices filed them. Damage is property and crops in the dollars of the year, not adjusted for inflation, and only where an office estimated it.

Event by event

2 thunderstorm wind, 2 hail, 1 tornado. Local standard time, as filed.

Thunderstorm Wind, Fremont

When: May 18, 1:05 PM CST
Where: Fremont County
Coordinates: 40.780, -95.400

Tornado, Adams

When: May 18, 1:45 PM CST
Where: Adams County
Rating: F2
Path length: 1 mi
Path width: 200 yd
Property damage: $250,000
Coordinates: 40.980, -94.730

Hail, Fremont

When: May 18, 2:00 PM CST
Where: Fremont County
Measured: 1.75 in hail
Coordinates: 40.700, -95.400

Hail, Taylor

When: May 18, 2:30 PM CST
Where: Taylor County
Measured: 1.5 in hail
Coordinates: 40.580, -94.780

Thunderstorm Wind, Clarke

When: May 18, 3:30 PM CST
Where: Clarke County
Coordinates: 41.000, -93.780

What these are

Thunderstorm Wind: Winds from a thunderstorm of 50 knots (58 mph) or more, or lower winds that caused damage or casualties. Measured gusts are marked MG, estimated EG.
Tornado: A violently rotating column of air in contact with the ground and extending from a thunderstorm, filed with its path, width and Fujita or Enhanced Fujita rating from the damage survey.
Hail: Hail three-quarters of an inch or larger, or smaller hail that caused damage, filed with the largest stone measured.

After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.

The same day elsewhere

Every storm in Iowa in 1959 Every state in 1959 This day in weather history The tornado archive for Iowa, 1959

Sources

NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database, compiled from the National Weather Service’s monthly Storm Data. Complete through 2026-06; NCEI adds each month about 75 days after it ends and revises past years a few times a year. Rebuilt 2026-09-24. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 10019305, 10019306, 10019307, 10019308, 10019309.