Tornado, Plymouth
- When
- July 5, 4:20 PM CST
- Where
- Plymouth County
- Rating
- F2
- Path length
- 20.8 mi
- Path width
- 30 yd
- Property damage
- $2.5 million
- Coordinates
- 42.900, -96.550
Tornadoes and Hail in Iowa, July 5, 1978
9 thunderstorm wind, 8 hail, 5 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
The toll
- Deaths
- 0
- Injuries
- 0
- Property damage
- $5.1 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
9 thunderstorm wind, 8 hail, 5 tornado. Local standard time, as filed.
Hail, Osceola
- When
- July 5, 5:15 PM CST
- Where
- Osceola County
- Measured
- 1.5 in hail
- Coordinates
- 43.420, -95.550
Tornado, Sioux
- When
- July 5, 5:30 PM CST
- Where
- Sioux County
- Path length
- 8 mi
- Path width
- 100 yd
- Property damage
- $25,000
- Coordinates
- 43.180, -96.470
Hail, Sioux
- When
- July 5, 5:30 PM CST
- Where
- Sioux County
- Measured
- 2.75 in hail
- Coordinates
- 43.180, -96.470
Thunderstorm Wind, Sioux
- When
- July 5, 5:30 PM CST
- Where
- Sioux County
- Coordinates
- 43.000, -96.470
Hail, Clay
- When
- July 5, 5:50 PM CST
- Where
- Clay County
- Measured
- 1 in hail
- Coordinates
- 43.170, -95.200
Tornado, Sioux
- When
- July 5, 6:00 PM CST
- Where
- Sioux County
- Rating
- F2
- Path length
- 11.9 mi
- Path width
- 200 yd
- Property damage
- $2.5 million
- Coordinates
- 43.030, -96.250
Hail, Sioux
- When
- July 5, 6:00 PM CST
- Where
- Sioux County
- Measured
- 2 in hail
- Coordinates
- 43.080, -96.180
Thunderstorm Wind, Plymouth
- When
- July 5, 6:05 PM CST
- Where
- Plymouth County
- Coordinates
- 42.780, -96.170
Thunderstorm Wind, O'Brien
- When
- July 5, 6:12 PM CST
- Where
- O'Brien County
- Coordinates
- 42.980, -95.630
Thunderstorm Wind, Dickinson
- When
- July 5, 6:17 PM CST
- Where
- Dickinson County
- Coordinates
- 43.330, -95.050
Hail, Clay
- When
- July 5, 6:20 PM CST
- Where
- Clay County
- Measured
- 2.75 in hail
- Coordinates
- 43.220, -95.080
Tornado, Buena Vista
- When
- July 5, 6:30 PM CST
- Where
- Buena Vista County
- Path length
- 1 mi
- Path width
- 30 yd
- Property damage
- $25,000
- Coordinates
- 42.870, -95.230
Tornado, Sac
- When
- July 5, 7:40 PM CST
- Where
- Sac County
- Path length
- 1 mi
- Path width
- 223 yd
- Property damage
- $25,000
- Coordinates
- 42.320, -95.230
Hail, Kossuth
- When
- July 5, 7:45 PM CST
- Where
- Kossuth County
- Measured
- 1.75 in hail
- Coordinates
- 43.070, -94.230
Hail, Kossuth
- When
- July 5, 8:05 PM CST
- Where
- Kossuth County
- Measured
- 1.75 in hail
- Coordinates
- 43.250, -94.220
Hail, Sioux
- When
- July 5, 8:23 PM CST
- Where
- Sioux County
- Measured
- 1.75 in hail
- Coordinates
- 42.970, -96.180
Thunderstorm Wind, Plymouth
- When
- July 5, 8:25 PM CST
- Where
- Plymouth County
- Coordinates
- 42.900, -96.180
Thunderstorm Wind, Clay
- When
- July 5, 9:30 PM CST
- Where
- Clay County
- Coordinates
- 42.920, -95.350
Thunderstorm Wind, Sioux
- When
- July 5, 9:50 PM CST
- Where
- Sioux County
- Coordinates
- 43.000, -96.470
Thunderstorm Wind, Ida
- When
- July 5, 9:50 PM CST
- Where
- Ida County
- Coordinates
- 42.320, -95.600
Thunderstorm Wind, Crawford
- When
- July 5, 10:00 PM CST
- Where
- Crawford County
- Measured
- 52 kt (60 mph)
- Coordinates
- 42.020, -95.350
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.
- 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.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
The same day elsewhere
- Tornadoes and Hail in Minnesota, July 5, 1978
- Tornado in Ohio, July 5, 1978
- Tornadoes and Hail in Texas, July 5, 1978
- Tornado and Hail in Wisconsin, July 5, 1978
- Tornadoes and Hail in North Dakota, July 5, 1978
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Nebraska, July 5, 1978
- Tornadoes and Damaging Winds in Kansas, July 5, 1978
- Tornadoes and Hail in South Dakota, July 5, 1978
- Tornado in Florida, July 5, 1978
- Tornado in New Mexico, July 5, 1978
More
Every storm in Iowa in 1978Every state in 1978This day in weather historyThe tornado archive for Iowa, 1978
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: 10013815, 10013816, 10013817, 10013818, 10013819, 10013820, 10013821, 10013822, 10013823, 10013824, 10013825, 10013826, 10013827, 10013828, 10013829, 10013830, 10013831, 10013832, 10013833, 10013834, 10013835, 10013836.