Storms in Iowa in 1981
Every storm the National Weather Service filed in Iowa in 1981, 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 1981 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
- 190
- Deaths
- 0
- Injuries
- 12
- Damage
- $24 million
- Episodes
- 34
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 | 86 | 0 | 0 | |
| Hail | 68 | 0 | 0 | |
| Tornado | 36 | 0 | 12 | $24 million |
Every episode, month by month
March 1981
April 1981
- Tornadoes and Hail in Iowa, April 3, 1981
- Tornadoes and Damaging Wind in Iowa, April 4, 1981
- Tornadoes and Hail in Iowa, April 10, 1981
- Tornado and Hail in Iowa, April 11, 1981
- Hail in Iowa, April 12, 1981
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Iowa, April 13, 1981
- Hail in Iowa, April 28, 1981
- Hail in Iowa, April 29, 1981
May 1981
June 1981
- Tornadoes and Hail in Iowa, June 7, 1981
- Tornado and Hail in Iowa, June 12, 1981
- Tornado in Iowa, June 13, 1981
- Tornadoes and Hail in Iowa, June 14, 1981
- Damaging Winds in Iowa, June 21, 1981
- Tornado and Hail in Iowa, June 23, 1981
- Damaging Wind in Iowa, June 24, 1981
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Iowa, June 28, 1981
- Hail in Iowa, June 29, 1981
July 1981
- Damaging Wind in Iowa, July 13, 1981
- Damaging Winds in Iowa, July 14, 1981
- Damaging Wind in Iowa, July 15, 1981
- Hail and Damaging Wind in Iowa, July 17, 1981
- Damaging Winds in Iowa, July 20, 1981
- Damaging Winds in Iowa, July 21, 1981
- Damaging Wind in Iowa, July 25, 1981
August 1981
- Damaging Wind in Iowa, August 3, 1981
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Iowa, August 8, 1981
- Damaging Wind in Iowa, August 14, 1981
- Hail in Iowa, August 25, 1981
- Tornado in Iowa, August 28, 1981
September 1981
October 1981
More
Every year in IowaEvery state in 1981Tornadoes in Iowa in 198119801982
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.