Hail, Carroll
- When
- April 3, 3:00 PM CST
- Where
- Carroll County
- Measured
- 1.75 in hail
- Coordinates
- 42.070, -94.880
Tornadoes and Hail in Iowa, April 3, 1981
25 thunderstorm wind, 8 hail, 6 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
- $1.0 million
- Crop damage
- None recorded
- Events
- 39
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
25 thunderstorm wind, 8 hail, 6 tornado. Local standard time, as filed.
Hail, Franklin
- When
- April 3, 3:30 PM CST
- Where
- Franklin County
- Measured
- 1.75 in hail
- Coordinates
- 42.900, -93.200
Thunderstorm Wind, Harrison
- When
- April 3, 3:35 PM CST
- Where
- Harrison County
- Coordinates
- 41.730, -95.720
Hail, Howard
- When
- April 3, 4:25 PM CST
- Where
- Howard County
- Measured
- 1.25 in hail
- Coordinates
- 43.250, -92.450
Hail, Wright
- When
- April 3, 4:30 PM CST
- Where
- Wright County
- Measured
- 0.75 in hail
- Coordinates
- 42.850, -93.600
Hail, Howard
- When
- April 3, 5:05 PM CST
- Where
- Howard County
- Measured
- 1.5 in hail
- Coordinates
- 43.380, -92.120
Hail, Floyd
- When
- April 3, 5:43 PM CST
- Where
- Floyd County
- Measured
- 0.75 in hail
- Coordinates
- 43.070, -92.700
Thunderstorm Wind, Cass
- When
- April 3, 5:50 PM CST
- Where
- Cass County
- Coordinates
- 41.250, -94.780
Thunderstorm Wind, Taylor
- When
- April 3, 6:00 PM CST
- Where
- Taylor County
- Coordinates
- 40.880, -94.550
Thunderstorm Wind, Adair
- When
- April 3, 6:00 PM CST
- Where
- Adair County
- Coordinates
- 41.300, -94.570
Thunderstorm Wind, Taylor
- When
- April 3, 6:00 PM CST
- Where
- Taylor County
- Coordinates
- 40.800, -94.630
Hail, Pottawattamie
- When
- April 3, 6:10 PM CST
- Where
- Pottawattamie County
- Measured
- 1.5 in hail
- Coordinates
- 41.230, -95.870
Hail, Mills
- When
- April 3, 6:10 PM CST
- Where
- Mills County
- Measured
- 1.5 in hail
- Coordinates
- 41.050, -95.770
Tornado, Boone
- When
- April 3, 6:40 PM CST
- Where
- Boone County
- Rating
- F0
- Path length
- 5.2 mi
- Path width
- 30 yd
- Coordinates
- 41.950, -94.170
Thunderstorm Wind, Guthrie
- When
- April 3, 6:48 PM CST
- Where
- Guthrie County
- Coordinates
- 41.500, -94.320
Thunderstorm Wind, Warren
- When
- April 3, 7:15 PM CST
- Where
- Warren County
- Measured
- 61 kt (70 mph)
- Coordinates
- 41.420, -93.670
Thunderstorm Wind, Warren
- When
- April 3, 7:30 PM CST
- Where
- Warren County
- Coordinates
- 41.370, -93.370
Thunderstorm Wind, Warren
- When
- April 3, 7:30 PM CST
- Where
- Warren County
- Coordinates
- 41.280, -93.450
Thunderstorm Wind, Marion
- When
- April 3, 7:30 PM CST
- Where
- Marion County
- Coordinates
- 41.420, -93.270
Thunderstorm Wind, Marion
- When
- April 3, 7:35 PM CST
- Where
- Marion County
- Measured
- 52 kt (60 mph)
- Coordinates
- 41.320, -93.100
Thunderstorm Wind, Jasper
- When
- April 3, 7:40 PM CST
- Where
- Jasper County
- Coordinates
- 41.670, -93.250
Thunderstorm Wind, Jasper
- When
- April 3, 7:40 PM CST
- Where
- Jasper County
- Coordinates
- 41.580, -92.850
Thunderstorm Wind, Monroe
- When
- April 3, 8:00 PM CST
- Where
- Monroe County
- Coordinates
- 41.030, -92.820
Thunderstorm Wind, Monroe
- When
- April 3, 8:00 PM CST
- Where
- Monroe County
- Coordinates
- 41.000, -92.780
Tornado, Wayne
- When
- April 3, 8:10 PM CST
- Where
- Wayne County
- Rating
- F0
- Path width
- 33 yd
- Coordinates
- 40.750, -93.230
Thunderstorm Wind, Jasper
- When
- April 3, 8:10 PM CST
- Where
- Jasper County
- Coordinates
- 41.720, -92.920
Thunderstorm Wind, Tama
- When
- April 3, 8:20 PM CST
- Where
- Tama County
- Coordinates
- 42.000, -92.580
Thunderstorm Wind, Poweshiek
- When
- April 3, 8:25 PM CST
- Where
- Poweshiek County
- Coordinates
- 41.750, -92.730
Tornado, Iowa
- When
- April 3, 8:30 PM CST
- Where
- Iowa County
- Rating
- F1
- Path length
- 2.7 mi
- Path width
- 80 yd
- Property damage
- $250,000
- Coordinates
- 41.720, -92.280
Thunderstorm Wind, Poweshiek
- When
- April 3, 8:43 PM CST
- Where
- Poweshiek County
- Coordinates
- 41.780, -92.350
Thunderstorm Wind, Wapello
- When
- April 3, 8:51 PM CST
- Where
- Wapello County
- Measured
- 50 kt (58 mph)
- Coordinates
- 41.100, -92.450
Thunderstorm Wind, Delaware
- When
- April 3, 9:00 PM CST
- Where
- Delaware County
- Coordinates
- 42.480, -91.450
Thunderstorm Wind, Keokuk
- When
- April 3, 9:05 PM CST
- Where
- Keokuk County
- Measured
- 52 kt (60 mph)
- Coordinates
- 41.330, -92.200
Thunderstorm Wind, Wapello
- When
- April 3, 10:27 PM CST
- Where
- Wapello County
- Measured
- 54 kt (62 mph)
- Coordinates
- 41.100, -92.450
Thunderstorm Wind, Wapello
- When
- April 3, 11:02 PM CST
- Where
- Wapello County
- Measured
- 61 kt (70 mph)
- Coordinates
- 41.100, -92.450
Tornado, Washington
- When
- April 3, 11:15 PM CST
- Where
- Washington County
- Rating
- F0
- Path length
- 1.3 mi
- Path width
- 50 yd
- Property damage
- $250,000
- Coordinates
- 41.200, -91.530
Tornado, Louisa
- When
- April 3, 11:18 PM CST
- Where
- Louisa County
- Rating
- F0
- Path length
- 16.6 mi
- Path width
- 33 yd
- Property damage
- $250,000
- Coordinates
- 41.220, -91.480
Thunderstorm Wind, Jefferson
- When
- April 3, 11:30 PM CST
- Where
- Jefferson County
- Measured
- 55 kt (63 mph)
- Coordinates
- 41.000, -91.980
Tornado, Muscatine
- When
- April 3, 11:55 PM CST
- Where
- Muscatine County
- Rating
- F0
- Path length
- 32.2 mi
- Path width
- 33 yd
- Property damage
- $250,000
- Coordinates
- 41.330, -91.200
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
- Tornado and Hail in Illinois, April 3, 1981
- Tornadoes and Hail in Nebraska, April 3, 1981
- Tornadoes and Damaging Winds in Kansas, April 3, 1981
- Tornado and Damaging Winds in Arkansas, April 3, 1981
- Tornado and Hail in Wisconsin, April 3, 1981
- Tornado and Damaging Winds in Oklahoma, April 3, 1981
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Missouri, April 3, 1981
- Damaging Winds in Texas, April 3, 1981
- Hail and Damaging Wind in Minnesota, April 3, 1981
More
Every storm in Iowa in 1981Every state in 1981This day in weather historyThe tornado archive for Iowa, 1981
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: 10014801, 10014802, 10014803, 10014804, 10014805, 10014806, 10014807, 10014808, 10014809, 10014810, 10014811, 10014812, 10014813, 10014814, 10014815, 10014816, 10014817, 10014818, 10014819, 10014820, 10014821, 10014822, 10014823, 10014824, 10014825, 10014826, 10014827, 10014828, 10014829, 10014830, 10014831, 10014832, 10014833, 10014834, 10014835, 10014836, 10014837, 10014838, 10014839.