Iowa, 1974

Tornadoes and Hail in Iowa, May 16, 1974

May 16, 1974 · 11 events in 3 counties and zones

7 hail, 3 tornado, 1 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
0
Injuries
0
Property damage
None recorded
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

7 hail, 3 tornado, 1 thunderstorm wind. Local standard time, as filed.

Hail, Cedar

When
May 16, 4:40 AM CST
Where
Cedar County
Measured
1 in hail
Coordinates
41.770, -91.130

Hail, Cedar

When
May 16, 5:43 AM CST
Where
Cedar County
Measured
1 in hail
Coordinates
41.580, -91.270

Hail, Muscatine

When
May 16, 6:00 AM CST
Where
Muscatine County
Measured
2 in hail
Coordinates
41.520, -90.770

Hail, Cedar

When
May 16, 2:50 PM CST
Where
Cedar County
Measured
1 in hail
Coordinates
41.730, -91.250

Hail, Scott

When
May 16, 4:00 PM CST
Where
Scott County
Measured
3 in hail
Coordinates
41.650, -90.730

Hail, Scott

When
May 16, 4:10 PM CST
Where
Scott County
Measured
2 in hail
Coordinates
41.670, -90.600

Thunderstorm Wind, Scott

When
May 16, 4:20 PM CST
Where
Scott County
Coordinates
41.720, -90.480

Hail, Muscatine

When
May 16, 5:15 PM CST
Where
Muscatine County
Measured
1.75 in hail
Coordinates
41.420, -91.050

Tornado, Muscatine

When
May 16, 6:10 PM CST
Where
Muscatine County
Rating
F0
Path width
33 yd
Coordinates
41.280, -91.120

Tornado, Scott

When
May 16, 7:48 PM CST
Where
Scott County
Rating
F0
Path width
33 yd
Coordinates
41.500, -90.600

Tornado, Scott

When
May 16, 8:15 PM CST
Where
Scott County
Rating
F0
Path width
33 yd
Coordinates
41.700, -90.680

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

More

Every storm in Iowa in 1974Every state in 1974This day in weather historyThe tornado archive for Iowa, 1974

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: 10015587, 10015588, 10015589, 10015590, 10015591, 10015592, 10015593, 10015594, 10015595, 10015596, 10015597.