Tornado and Hail in Iowa, July 31, 1994

Name: Tornado and Hail in Iowa, July 31, 1994
Start: 1994-07-31T16:09
End: 1994-07-31T22:40
Location: Iowa

July 31, 1994 · 24 events in 11 counties and zones

15 hail, 8 thunderstorm wind, 1 tornado, as filed by the National Weather Service.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 24 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. 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: 0
Property damage: $1.3 million
Crop damage: $507,000
Events: 24

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

15 hail, 8 thunderstorm wind, 1 tornado. Local standard time, as filed.

Hail, Mitchell

When: July 31, 4:09 PM CST
Where: Mitchell County, Forest City
Measured: 1.75 in hail
Property damage: $50,000
Crop damage: $50,000
Coordinates: 43.356, -92.789 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Hail, Mitchell

When: July 31, 4:09 PM CST
Where: Mitchell County, Wooden
Measured: 0.75 in hail
Property damage: $5,000
Crop damage: $50,000
Coordinates: 43.356, -92.789 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Hail, Mitchell

When: July 31, 4:20 PM CST
Where: Mitchell County, Forest City
Measured: 1.75 in hail
Property damage: $50,000
Crop damage: $50,000
Coordinates: 43.356, -92.789 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Hail, Mitchell

When: July 31, 4:38 PM CST
Where: Mitchell County, Forest City
Measured: 0.75 in hail
Property damage: $5,000
Crop damage: $500
Coordinates: 43.356, -92.789 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Hail, Mitchell

When: July 31, 5:04 PM CST
Where: Mitchell County, Otranto
Measured: 1 in hail
Property damage: $5,000
Crop damage: $50,000
Coordinates: 43.356, -92.789 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Hail, Worth

When: July 31, 5:10 PM CST
Where: Worth County, Northwood
Measured: 1.75 in hail
Property damage: $50,000
Crop damage: $5,000
Coordinates: 43.377, -93.261 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Hail, Mitchell

When: July 31, 5:15 PM CST
Where: Mitchell County, Otranto
Measured: 0.88 in hail
Property damage: $5,000
Crop damage: $5,000
Coordinates: 43.356, -92.789 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Hail, Hancock

When: July 31, 5:15 PM CST
Where: Hancock County, Miller
Measured: 0.75 in hail
Property damage: $5,000
Crop damage: $5,000
Coordinates: 43.082, -93.734 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Hail, Mitchell

When: July 31, 5:20 PM CST to 5:26 PM CST
Where: Mitchell County, Carpenter to Stacyville to
Measured: 0.75 in hail
Property damage: $5,000
Crop damage: $50,000
Coordinates: 43.356, -92.789 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Tornado, Mitchell

When: July 31, 5:30 PM CST
Where: Mitchell County, Stacyville
Rating: F1
Path length: 1.5 mi
Path width: 35 yd
Property damage: $500,000
Crop damage: $5,000
Coordinates: 43.356, -92.789 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Hail, Winnebago

When: July 31, 5:42 PM CST
Where: Winnebago County, Forest City
Measured: 1 in hail
Property damage: $5,000
Crop damage: $50,000
Coordinates: 43.378, -93.734 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Hail, Kossuth

When: July 31, 6:00 PM CST
Where: Kossuth County, Bancroft
Measured: 1 in hail
Property damage: $5,000
Crop damage: $50,000
Coordinates: 43.204, -94.207 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Hail, Buena Vista

When: July 31, 6:10 PM CST
Where: Buena Vista County to Truesdale
Measured: 1 in hail
Property damage: $5,000
Crop damage: $50,000
Coordinates: 42.736, -95.151 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Thunderstorm Wind, Floyd

When: July 31, 6:30 PM CST
Where: Floyd County, Nora Springs
Measured: 65 kt (75 mph)
Property damage: $500,000
Crop damage: $50,000
Coordinates: 43.060, -92.789 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Thunderstorm Wind, Floyd

When: July 31, 7:00 PM CST
Where: Floyd County, Charles City
Measured: 50 kt (58 mph)
Property damage: $5,000
Crop damage: $500
Coordinates: 43.060, -92.789 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Hail, Humboldt

When: July 31, 7:22 PM CST
Where: Humboldt County, Humboldt
Measured: 0.75 in hail
Property damage: $5,000
Crop damage: $5,000
Coordinates: 42.777, -94.207 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Hail, Humboldt

When: July 31, 7:30 PM CST
Where: Humboldt County, Humboldt
Measured: 0.75 in hail
Property damage: $5,000
Crop damage: $5,000
Coordinates: 42.777, -94.207 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Hail, Humboldt

When: July 31, 7:40 PM CST
Where: Humboldt County, Humboldt
Measured: 0.75 in hail
Property damage: $5,000
Crop damage: $5,000
Coordinates: 42.777, -94.207 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Thunderstorm Wind, Greene

When: July 31, 9:00 PM CST
Where: Greene County, Scranton
Measured: 52 kt (60 mph)
Property damage: $5,000
Crop damage: $5,000
Coordinates: 42.036, -94.397 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Thunderstorm Wind, Greene

When: July 31, 9:18 PM CST
Where: Greene County, Scranton
Measured: 52 kt (60 mph)
Property damage: $5,000
Crop damage: $5,000
Coordinates: 42.036, -94.397 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Thunderstorm Wind, Greene

When: July 31, 9:26 PM CST
Where: Greene County, Jefferson
Measured: 50 kt (58 mph)
Property damage: $5,000
Crop damage: $5,000
Coordinates: 42.036, -94.397 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Thunderstorm Wind, Story

When: July 31, 9:40 PM CST
Where: Story County, Ames
Measured: 50 kt (58 mph)
Property damage: $5,000
Crop damage: $500
Coordinates: 42.036, -93.465 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Thunderstorm Wind, Polk

When: July 31, 10:30 PM CST
Where: Polk County, Altoona
Measured: 50 kt (58 mph)
Property damage: $5,000
Crop damage: $500
Coordinates: 41.686, -93.573 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Thunderstorm Wind, Polk

When: July 31, 10:40 PM CST
Where: Polk County, Elkhart
Measured: 50 kt (58 mph)
Property damage: $50,000
Crop damage: $5,000
Coordinates: 41.686, -93.573 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

What these are

Hail: Hail three-quarters of an inch or larger, or smaller hail that caused damage, filed with the largest stone measured.
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

Every storm in Iowa in 1994 Every state in 1994 This day in weather history The tornado archive for Iowa, 1994 Warnings in Iowa, July 1994

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: 10323800, 10323801, 10323802, 10323803, 10323858, 10324140, 10323859, 10324489, 10323860, 10323861, 10323910, 10324355, 10322067, 10321610, 10321611, 10324539, 10324540, 10324541, 10321675, 10321676, 10321677, 10324253, 10323747, 10323748.