Storms in Iowa in 1978
Every storm the National Weather Service filed in Iowa in 1978, with each episode’s narrative and every event in it. Before 1996 the record holds tornadoes, hail and thunderstorm wind only, without narratives; floods, heat, winter storms and the other kinds begin in 1996.
Iowa in 1978 on the map
Every episode with a place to put it, colored by kind of event.
- Tornadoes
- Tropical storms and surge
- Floods
- Wind
- Hail
- Winter weather
- Heat and drought
- Cold
- Fire, smoke and dust
- Marine and coastal
- Other
The year
- Events
- 141
- Deaths
- 6
- Injuries
- 47
- Damage
- $14 million
- Episodes
- 33
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.
By kind of event
| Kind of event | Events | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thunderstorm Wind | 73 | 0 | 0 | |
| Hail | 41 | 0 | 0 | |
| Tornado | 27 | 6 | 47 | $14 million |
Every episode, month by month
April 1978
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Iowa, April 3, 1978
- Damaging Wind in Iowa, April 5, 1978
- Damaging Winds in Iowa, April 17, 1978
- Damaging Winds in Iowa, April 23, 1978
May 1978
June 1978
- Tornado in Iowa, June 7, 1978
- Tornado and Damaging Winds in Iowa, June 14, 1978
- Tornado and Hail in Iowa, June 15, 1978
- Hail and Damaging Wind in Iowa, June 16, 1978
- Tornado and Hail in Iowa, June 17, 1978
- Tornadoes in Iowa, June 19, 1978
- Hail in Iowa, June 24, 1978
- Tornado and Hail in Iowa, June 25, 1978
- Tornado and Hail in Iowa, June 26, 1978
- Damaging Wind in Iowa, June 27, 1978
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Iowa, June 28, 1978
- Hail and Damaging Wind in Iowa, June 29, 1978
July 1978
- Tornado and Hail in Iowa, July 1, 1978
- Tornadoes and Hail in Iowa, July 5, 1978
- Tornado and Damaging Winds in Iowa, July 6, 1978
- Tornado in Iowa, July 7, 1978
- Tornadoes in Iowa, July 14, 1978
- Damaging Winds in Iowa, July 20, 1978
- Hail in Iowa, July 21, 1978
August 1978
- Damaging Wind in Iowa, August 14, 1978
- Hail in Iowa, August 16, 1978
- Hail in Iowa, August 17, 1978
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Iowa, August 18, 1978
- Hail in Iowa, August 25, 1978
- Damaging Wind in Iowa, August 26, 1978
September 1978
More
Every year in IowaEvery state in 1978Tornadoes in Iowa in 197819771979
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.