Tornadoes and Damaging Winds in Iowa, July 7, 1994

Name: Tornadoes and Damaging Winds in Iowa, July 7, 1994
Start: 1994-07-07T16:00
End: 1994-07-07T19:00
Location: Iowa

July 7, 1994 · 11 events in 8 counties and zones

7 thunderstorm wind, 4 tornado, as filed by the National Weather Service.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 9 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: $1.8 million
Crop damage: $27,000
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

7 thunderstorm wind, 4 tornado. Local standard time, as filed.

Tornado, Winnebago

When: July 7, 4:00 PM CST
Where: Winnebago County, Forest City
Rating: F0
Path length: 0.5 mi
Path width: 35 yd
Property damage: $5,000
Crop damage: $50
Coordinates: 43.378, -93.734 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Thunderstorm Wind, Hancock

When: July 7, 4:12 PM CST
Where: Hancock County, Garner
Measured: 50 kt (58 mph)
Property damage: $50,000
Crop damage: $500
Coordinates: 43.082, -93.734 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Tornado, Worth

When: July 7, 4:21 PM CST
Where: Worth County, Fertile
Rating: F0
Path length: 0.1 mi
Path width: 25 yd
Property damage: $500
Crop damage: $50
Coordinates: 43.270, -93.430

Tornado, Chickasaw

When: July 7, 5:52 PM CST to 6:15 PM CST
Where: Chickasaw County, New Hampton - to New Hampton
Rating: F2
Path length: 9.5 mi
Path width: 100 yd
Property damage: $500,000
Crop damage: $5,000
Coordinates: 42.970, -92.480

Thunderstorm Wind, Chickasaw

When: July 7, 5:56 PM CST
Where: Chickasaw County, New Hampton
Measured: 70 kt (81 mph)
Property damage: $500,000
Crop damage: $5,000
Coordinates: 43.060, -92.318 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Thunderstorm Wind, Chickasaw

When: July 7, 6:00 PM CST
Where: Chickasaw County, Fredericksburg
Measured: 50 kt (58 mph)
Property damage: $50,000
Crop damage: $5,000
Coordinates: 43.060, -92.318 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Thunderstorm Wind, Butler

When: July 7, 6:12 PM CST
Where: Butler County, Clarksville
Measured: 50 kt (58 mph)
Property damage: $50,000
Crop damage: $5,000
Coordinates: 42.732, -92.790 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Thunderstorm Wind, Black Hawk

When: July 7, 6:15 PM CST
Where: Black Hawk County, La Porte City
Measured: 52 kt (60 mph)
Property damage: $50,000
Crop damage: $500
Coordinates: 42.470, -92.309 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Thunderstorm Wind, Bremer

When: July 7, 6:24 PM CST
Where: Bremer County, Plainfield
Measured: 50 kt (58 mph)
Property damage: $50,000
Crop damage: $5,000
Coordinates: 42.775, -92.318 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Thunderstorm Wind, Bremer

When: July 7, 6:30 PM CST
Where: Bremer County, Waverly
Measured: 50 kt (58 mph)
Property damage: $500,000
Crop damage: $500
Coordinates: 42.775, -92.318 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Tornado, Fayette

When: July 7, 7:00 PM CST
Where: Fayette County, Clermont
Rating: F0
Path length: 0.3 mi
Path width: 25 yd
Property damage: $5,000
Crop damage: $50
Coordinates: 42.863, -91.844 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Strong upper air dynamics combined with a cold front moved into Iowa. The airmass remained very unstable with surface dew point temperatures in the lower to middle 70s. The moisture layer was deep with 850 mb dew point temperatures around 15° C. Thunderstorms occurred during the early morning hours over western Iowa. The outflow boundary from that complex advanced into the central part of the state by sunrise. Thunderstorms developed throughout the day along this outflow boundary. During the afternoon hours they became severe. Several tornadoes were spawned. Two weak tornadoes touched down briefly in north central Iowa. One was in Winnebago County, the other in Worth County. Neither of them caused any significant damage as they occurred in open country. A fairly strong tornado touched down in Chickasaw County. The tornado touched down southwest of New Hampton and tracked northeast. It his a truck repair shop at the intersection of U.S. Highway 63 and County Highway B54. The roof was removed from the repair facility. Most of the tornado track was through open country, which kept damage to a minimum. The same parent storm caused high winds at the intersection of U.S. Highway 63 and Iowa Highway 18. The winds removed the roof from a car wash there and also damaged several cars in the parking lot there. Debris from the tornado broke windows and punctured the tires on two trucks in the lot. Another tornado made a cameo touchdown in a field north of Clermont in Fayette County. In addition to the tornadoes, there were a few other funnel cloud reports. None of these touched down to become tornadoes. Many of the storms over the east half of the state produced gusty winds and small hail. Only a few were strong enough to become severe. One storm caused wind damage in Bremer County. High winds blew the roof off of a barn and downed trees and power lines south of Plainfield. Another storm uprooted several trees in Waverly. Damage of $10,000-$15,000 was reported in Fredericksburg as high winds damaged the roof of a service station.

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

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: 10323909, 10324488, 10324137, 10321507, 10321508, 10321509, 10322071, 10322255, 10321924, 10321925, 10321582.