Storms in Iowa in 1988
Every storm the National Weather Service filed in Iowa in 1988, 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 1988 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
- 205
- Deaths
- 0
- Injuries
- 93
- Damage
- $283 million
- Episodes
- 31
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 | 99 | 0 | 0 | |
| Tornado | 67 | 0 | 93 | $283 million |
| Hail | 39 | 0 | 0 |
Every episode, month by month
March 1988
April 1988
May 1988
- Tornadoes and Hail in Iowa, May 7, 1988
- Tornadoes and Hail in Iowa, May 8, 1988
- Damaging Wind in Iowa, May 19, 1988
- Damaging Wind in Iowa, May 20, 1988
- Tornado and Damaging Wind in Iowa, May 21, 1988
- Damaging Winds in Iowa, May 31, 1988
June 1988
July 1988
- Damaging Wind in Iowa, July 7, 1988
- Tornado in Iowa, July 9, 1988
- Damaging Winds in Iowa, July 14, 1988
- Tornadoes and Damaging Winds in Iowa, July 15, 1988
- Damaging Winds in Iowa, July 16, 1988
- Hail in Iowa, July 17, 1988
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Iowa, July 24, 1988
- Damaging Winds in Iowa, July 31, 1988
August 1988
- Damaging Winds in Iowa, August 3, 1988
- Damaging Winds in Iowa, August 4, 1988
- Damaging Winds in Iowa, August 7, 1988
- Tornado and Hail in Iowa, August 8, 1988
- Damaging Winds in Iowa, August 18, 1988
- Damaging Wind in Iowa, August 21, 1988
- Tornadoes and Hail in Iowa, August 22, 1988
September 1988
- Damaging Wind in Iowa, September 2, 1988
- Hail in Iowa, September 17, 1988
- Damaging Wind in Iowa, September 19, 1988
November 1988
December 1988
More
Every year in IowaEvery state in 1988Tornadoes in Iowa in 1988Warnings in Iowa in 198819871989
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.