Tornado, Hamilton
- When
- May 17, 1:00 PM CST
- Where
- Hamilton County
- Rating
- F2
- Path length
- 6.5 mi
- Path width
- 60 yd
- Property damage
- $25,000
- Coordinates
- 42.480, -93.700
Tornadoes and Hail in Iowa, May 17, 1991
13 hail, 7 tornado, 3 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
The toll
- Deaths
- 4
- Injuries
- 0
- Property damage
- $558,000
- Crop damage
- None recorded
- Events
- 23
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
13 hail, 7 tornado, 3 thunderstorm wind. Local standard time, as filed.
Tornado, Wright
- When
- May 17, 1:18 PM CST
- Where
- Wright County
- Rating
- F2
- Path length
- 2.5 mi
- Path width
- 60 yd
- Property damage
- $25,000
- Coordinates
- 42.580, -93.680
Hail, Hamilton
- When
- May 17, 1:20 PM CST
- Where
- Hamilton County
- Measured
- 1.75 in hail
- Coordinates
- 42.570, -93.680
Hail, Greene
- When
- May 17, 2:17 PM CST
- Where
- Greene County
- Measured
- 1.75 in hail
- Coordinates
- 42.020, -94.380
Hail, Greene
- When
- May 17, 2:20 PM CST
- Where
- Greene County
- Measured
- 1.75 in hail
- Deaths
- 4 direct, 0 indirect
- Coordinates
- 42.170, -94.270
Hail, Black Hawk
- When
- May 17, 2:25 PM CST
- Where
- Black Hawk County
- Measured
- 3 in hail
- Coordinates
- 42.500, -92.350
Thunderstorm Wind, Buchanan
- When
- May 17, 2:30 PM CST
- Where
- Buchanan County
- Measured
- 50 kt (58 mph)
- Coordinates
- 42.470, -91.930
Hail, Linn
- When
- May 17, 2:35 PM CST
- Where
- Linn County
- Measured
- 1.75 in hail
- Coordinates
- 42.200, -91.780
Hail, Johnson
- When
- May 17, 2:50 PM CST
- Where
- Johnson County
- Measured
- 1.75 in hail
- Coordinates
- 41.800, -91.500
Tornado, Hamilton
- When
- May 17, 3:10 PM CST
- Where
- Hamilton County
- Rating
- F0
- Path length
- 0.1 mi
- Path width
- 17 yd
- Property damage
- $3,000
- Coordinates
- 42.270, -93.930
Tornado, Muscatine
- When
- May 17, 3:10 PM CST
- Where
- Muscatine County
- Rating
- F1
- Path length
- 0.1 mi
- Path width
- 17 yd
- Property damage
- $3,000
- Coordinates
- 41.380, -91.350
Tornado, Muscatine
- When
- May 17, 3:10 PM CST
- Where
- Muscatine County
- Rating
- F1
- Path length
- 9.5 mi
- Path width
- 30 yd
- Property damage
- $250,000
- Coordinates
- 41.480, -90.970
Hail, Boone
- When
- May 17, 3:15 PM CST
- Where
- Boone County
- Measured
- 1.75 in hail
- Coordinates
- 42.170, -94.020
Hail, Muscatine
- When
- May 17, 3:20 PM CST
- Where
- Muscatine County
- Measured
- 1 in hail
- Coordinates
- 41.580, -91.270
Tornado, Scott
- When
- May 17, 3:30 PM CST
- Where
- Scott County
- Rating
- F1
- Path length
- 5 mi
- Path width
- 30 yd
- Property damage
- $250,000
- Coordinates
- 41.530, -90.780
Hail, Grundy
- When
- May 17, 3:36 PM CST
- Where
- Grundy County
- Measured
- 0.75 in hail
- Coordinates
- 42.500, -92.680
Hail, Poweshiek
- When
- May 17, 3:45 PM CST
- Where
- Poweshiek County
- Measured
- 1 in hail
- Coordinates
- 41.700, -92.550
Thunderstorm Wind, Davis
- When
- May 17, 3:45 PM CST
- Where
- Davis County
- Measured
- 50 kt (58 mph)
- Coordinates
- 40.650, -92.300
Tornado, Wright
- When
- May 17, 3:52 PM CST
- Where
- Wright County
- Rating
- F0
- Path length
- 0.3 mi
- Path width
- 20 yd
- Property damage
- $3,000
- Coordinates
- 42.720, -93.700
Hail, Scott
- When
- May 17, 4:00 PM CST
- Where
- Scott County
- Measured
- 1.75 in hail
- Coordinates
- 41.530, -90.580
Hail, Scott
- When
- May 17, 4:25 PM CST
- Where
- Scott County
- Measured
- 0.75 in hail
- Coordinates
- 41.530, -90.520
Hail, Iowa
- When
- May 17, 4:30 PM CST
- Where
- Iowa County
- Measured
- 1 in hail
- Coordinates
- 41.800, -92.070
Thunderstorm Wind, Lee
- When
- May 17, 6:00 PM CST
- Where
- Lee County
- Measured
- 50 kt (58 mph)
- Coordinates
- 40.630, -91.320
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 Indiana, May 17, 1991
- Tornado and Hail in Illinois, May 17, 1991
- Damaging Winds in New York, May 17, 1991
- Tornado and Hail in Missouri, May 17, 1991
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Ohio, May 17, 1991
- Damaging Winds in Massachusetts, May 17, 1991
- Damaging Winds in New Hampshire, May 17, 1991
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Idaho, May 17, 1991
- Tornadoes and Hail in Florida, May 17, 1991
- Hail in Texas, May 17, 1991
- Damaging Winds in Georgia, May 17, 1991
- Damaging Winds in Virginia, May 17, 1991
More
Every storm in Iowa in 1991Every state in 1991This day in weather historyThe tornado archive for Iowa, 1991Warnings in Iowa, May 1991
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: 10027524, 10027525, 10027526, 10027527, 10027528, 10027529, 10027530, 10028391, 10028392, 10028393, 10028394, 10028603, 10028604, 10028605, 10028606, 10028607, 10028608, 10028609, 10028610, 10028611, 10028612, 10028613, 10028614.