Tornado and Hail in Iowa, May 22, 1962

Name: Tornado and Hail in Iowa, May 22, 1962
Start: 1962-05-22T03:00
End: 1962-05-22T21:30
Location: Iowa

May 22, 1962 · 11 events in 11 counties and zones

9 thunderstorm wind, 1 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: 1
Injuries: 0
Property damage: $250,000
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 11

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

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

Hail, Crawford

When: May 22, 3:00 AM CST
Where: Crawford County
Measured: 1.5 in hail
Coordinates: 42.080, -95.580

Thunderstorm Wind, Chickasaw

When: May 22, 4:00 PM CST
Where: Chickasaw County
Coordinates: 43.000, -92.280

Thunderstorm Wind, Black Hawk

When: May 22, 4:30 PM CST
Where: Black Hawk County
Measured: 70 kt (81 mph)
Coordinates: 42.500, -92.400

Thunderstorm Wind, Hancock

When: May 22, 4:30 PM CST
Where: Hancock County
Coordinates: 43.200, -93.500

Thunderstorm Wind, Pocahontas

When: May 22, 4:30 PM CST
Where: Pocahontas County
Coordinates: 42.780, -94.780

Thunderstorm Wind, Cerro Gordo

When: May 22, 4:45 PM CST
Where: Cerro Gordo County
Measured: 80 kt (92 mph)
Coordinates: 43.200, -93.280

Thunderstorm Wind, Howard

When: May 22, 6:30 PM CST
Where: Howard County
Coordinates: 43.500, -92.180

Thunderstorm Wind, Wapello

When: May 22, 6:35 PM CST
Where: Wapello County
Measured: 65 kt (75 mph)
Coordinates: 41.080, -92.400

Thunderstorm Wind, Webster

When: May 22, 7:30 PM CST
Where: Webster County
Measured: 80 kt (92 mph)
Coordinates: 42.500, -94.180

Tornado, Johnson

When: May 22, 8:00 PM CST
Where: Johnson County
Rating: F2
Path length: 4.1 mi
Path width: 800 yd
Deaths: 1 direct, 0 indirect
Property damage: $250,000
Coordinates: 41.650, -91.530

Thunderstorm Wind, Louisa

When: May 22, 9:30 PM CST
Where: Louisa County
Coordinates: 41.200, -91.180

The people who died

As the offices recorded each death: direct deaths were caused by the weather itself, indirect ones by something it set in motion.

Event	Date	Age	Sex	Where	Kind
Tornado, Johnson	1962-05-22				Direct

What these are

Hail: Hail three-quarters of an inch or larger, or smaller hail that caused damage, filed with the largest stone measured.
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.

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

The same day elsewhere

Every storm in Iowa in 1962 Every state in 1962 This day in weather history The tornado archive for Iowa, 1962

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: 10013234, 10013235, 10013236, 10013237, 10013238, 10013239, 10013240, 10013241, 10013242, 10013243, 10013244.