Iowa, 1983

Tornadoes and Damaging Winds in Iowa, May 1, 1983

May 1, 1983 · NWS AT · 11 events in 6 counties and zones

9 tornado, 2 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
6
Property damage
$3.0 million
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

9 tornado, 2 thunderstorm wind. Local standard time, as filed.

Tornado, Page

When
May 1, 1:30 PM CST
Where
Page County
Rating
F0
Path length
1 mi
Path width
20 yd
Property damage
$3,000
Coordinates
40.700, -95.220

Tornado, Page

When
May 1, 1:30 PM CST
Where
Page County
Rating
F1
Path length
5 mi
Path width
20 yd
Property damage
$250,000
Coordinates
40.870, -95.300

Tornado, Fremont

When
May 1, 1:30 PM CST
Where
Fremont County
Rating
F2
Path length
7 mi
Path width
20 yd
Injuries
3 direct, 0 indirect
Property damage
$2.5 million
Coordinates
40.630, -95.670

Thunderstorm Wind, Page

When
May 1, 1:30 PM CST
Where
Page County
Coordinates
40.770, -95.370

Tornado, Montgomery

When
May 1, 1:40 PM CST
Where
Montgomery County
Rating
F1
Path length
5 mi
Path width
20 yd
Property damage
$250,000
Coordinates
40.900, -95.230

Tornado, Fremont

When
May 1, 1:54 PM CST
Where
Fremont County
Rating
F1
Path length
9 mi
Path width
40 yd
Property damage
$3,000
Coordinates
40.830, -95.830

Tornado, Page

When
May 1, 2:10 PM CST
Where
Page County
Rating
F0
Path length
1 mi
Path width
10 yd
Property damage
$250
Coordinates
40.620, -95.050

Tornado, Mills

When
May 1, 2:15 PM CST
Where
Mills County
Rating
F1
Path length
11 mi
Path width
40 yd
Injuries
3 direct, 0 indirect
Property damage
$3,000
Coordinates
40.900, -95.680

Thunderstorm Wind, Page

When
May 1, 2:25 PM CST
Where
Page County
Coordinates
40.800, -95.030

Tornado, Taylor

When
May 1, 3:00 PM CST
Where
Taylor County
Rating
F1
Path length
2 mi
Path width
20 yd
Property damage
$25,000
Coordinates
41.630, -94.870

Tornado, Louisa

When
May 1, 7:25 PM CST
Where
Louisa County
Rating
F0
Path length
0.1 mi
Path width
10 yd
Property damage
$250
Coordinates
41.300, -91.500

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.
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

More

Every storm in Iowa in 1983Every state in 1983This day in weather historyThe tornado archive for Iowa, 1983

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: 10015216, 10015217, 10015218, 10015219, 10015220, 10015008, 10015009, 10015010, 10015011, 10015012, 10015013.