Tornadoes in Iowa, March 16, 1963

Name: Tornadoes in Iowa, March 16, 1963
Start: 1963-03-16T12:15
End: 1963-03-16T13:30
Location: Iowa

March 16, 1963 · 4 events in 4 counties and zones

4 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

Open the live radar over this ground

The toll

Deaths: 0
Injuries: 0
Property damage: $53,000
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 4

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

4 tornado. Local standard time, as filed.

Tornado, Plymouth

When: March 16, 12:15 PM CST
Where: Plymouth County
Rating: F2
Path length: 2 mi
Path width: 200 yd
Property damage: $25,000
Coordinates: 42.800, -96.200

Tornado, Sioux

When: March 16, 1:00 PM CST
Where: Sioux County
Rating: F1
Path length: 4.7 mi
Path width: 300 yd
Property damage: $25,000
Coordinates: 43.250, -95.950

Tornado, Clay

When: March 16, 1:30 PM CST
Where: Clay County
Rating: F1
Path length: 4.5 mi
Path width: 33 yd
Property damage: $30
Coordinates: 43.120, -95.230

Tornado, Cherokee

When: March 16, 1:30 PM CST
Where: Cherokee County
Rating: F2
Path length: 2 mi
Path width: 250 yd
Property damage: $3,000
Coordinates: 42.780, -95.430

What these are

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 1963 Every state in 1963 This day in weather history The tornado archive for Iowa, 1963

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: 10013279, 10013280, 10013281, 10013282.