Tornadoes and Hail in Iowa, May 15, 1968

Name: Tornadoes and Hail in Iowa, May 15, 1968
Start: 1968-05-15T09:30
End: 1968-05-15T17:15
Location: Iowa

May 15, 1968 · 22 events in 15 counties and zones

11 hail, 8 tornado, 3 thunderstorm wind, 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: 18
Injuries: 619
Property damage: $50 million
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 22

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

11 hail, 8 tornado, 3 thunderstorm wind. Local standard time, as filed.

Thunderstorm Wind, Iowa

When: May 15, 9:30 AM CST
Where: Iowa County
Coordinates: 41.700, -92.280

Thunderstorm Wind, Iowa

When: May 15, 9:30 AM CST
Where: Iowa County
Coordinates: 41.580, -92.000

Hail, Johnson

When: May 15, 9:35 AM CST
Where: Johnson County
Measured: 2.75 in hail
Coordinates: 41.700, -91.500

Hail, Jones

When: May 15, 11:00 AM CST
Where: Jones County
Measured: 2.5 in hail
Coordinates: 42.000, -91.280

Tornado, Franklin

When: May 15, 3:10 PM CST
Where: Franklin County
Rating: F5
Path length: 14.7 mi
Path width: 600 yd
Property damage: $30
Coordinates: 42.770, -93.120

Tornado, Floyd

When: May 15, 3:25 PM CST
Where: Floyd County
Rating: F5
Path length: 24.7 mi
Path width: 600 yd
Deaths: 13 direct, 0 indirect
Injuries: 450 direct, 0 indirect
Property damage: $25 million
Coordinates: 42.900, -92.880

Hail, Cerro Gordo

When: May 15, 3:35 PM CST
Where: Cerro Gordo County
Measured: 1 in hail
Coordinates: 43.200, -93.280

Hail, Scott

When: May 15, 3:40 PM CST
Where: Scott County
Measured: 2.75 in hail
Coordinates: 41.500, -90.580

Hail, Dubuque

When: May 15, 3:40 PM CST
Where: Dubuque County
Measured: 2.75 in hail
Coordinates: 42.280, -91.000

Hail,

When: May 15, 3:43 PM CST
Where: County
Measured: 1.75 in hail
Coordinates: 41.380, -91.000

Hail, Floyd

When: May 15, 3:45 PM CST
Where: Floyd County
Measured: 1.75 in hail
Coordinates: 43.000, -92.680

Tornado, Chickasaw

When: May 15, 3:55 PM CST
Where: Chickasaw County
Rating: F5
Path length: 4.1 mi
Path width: 600 yd
Property damage: $30
Coordinates: 43.170, -92.550

Thunderstorm Wind, Pottawattamie

When: May 15, 3:55 PM CST
Where: Pottawattamie County
Measured: 55 kt (63 mph)
Coordinates: 41.200, -95.900

Tornado, Fayette

When: May 15, 3:57 PM CST
Where: Fayette County
Rating: F5
Path length: 13.1 mi
Path width: 500 yd
Deaths: 5 direct, 0 indirect
Injuries: 156 direct, 0 indirect
Property damage: $25 million
Coordinates: 42.670, -91.930

Tornado, Fayette

When: May 15, 3:58 PM CST
Where: Fayette County
Rating: F1
Path length: 0.3 mi
Path width: 300 yd
Property damage: $3,000
Coordinates: 43.100, -92.070

Tornado, Howard

When: May 15, 4:00 PM CST
Where: Howard County
Rating: F5
Path length: 18.6 mi
Path width: 600 yd
Injuries: 12 direct, 0 indirect
Property damage: $3,000
Coordinates: 43.220, -92.480

Hail, Chickasaw

When: May 15, 4:00 PM CST
Where: Chickasaw County
Measured: 1 in hail
Coordinates: 43.000, -92.280

Hail, Winneshiek

When: May 15, 4:00 PM CST
Where: Winneshiek County
Measured: 1 in hail
Coordinates: 43.280, -91.780

Hail, Fayette

When: May 15, 4:00 PM CST
Where: Fayette County
Measured: 2.75 in hail
Coordinates: 42.780, -91.780

Tornado, Audubon

When: May 15, 4:45 PM CST
Where: Audubon County
Rating: F1
Path length: 2 mi
Path width: 250 yd
Injuries: 1 direct, 0 indirect
Property damage: $25,000
Coordinates: 41.720, -94.930

Hail, Scott

When: May 15, 5:00 PM CST
Where: Scott County
Measured: 1.75 in hail
Coordinates: 41.580, -90.400

Tornado, Howard

When: May 15, 5:15 PM CST
Where: Howard County
Rating: F2
Path length: 4.7 mi
Path width: 250 yd
Property damage: $25,000
Coordinates: 43.330, -92.180

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.
Hail: Hail three-quarters of an inch or larger, or smaller hail that caused damage, filed with the largest stone measured.
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 1968 Every state in 1968 This day in weather history The tornado archive for Iowa, 1968

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: 10014273, 10014274, 10014275, 10014276, 10014277, 10014278, 10014279, 10014280, 10014281, 10014282, 10014283, 10014284, 10014285, 10014286, 10014287, 10014288, 10014289, 10014290, 10014291, 10014292, 10014293, 10014294.