Tornado, Floyd
- When
- August 23, 7:50 PM CST to 8:00 PM CST
- Where
- Floyd County, Charles City to 5 mi S of Charles City
- Rating
- F1
- Path length
- 5 mi
- Path width
- 150 yd
- Property damage
- $400,000
- Crop damage
- $50,000
- Coordinates
- 43.020, -92.770
Tornado and Hail in Iowa, August 23, 1997
A tornado damaged seven farms, destroying numerous grain bins and outbuildings. Eight cattle were also killed by downed power lines.
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
- 0
- Injuries
- 0
- Property damage
- $425,000
- Crop damage
- $150,000
- Events
- 4
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.
What happened
The episode as NWS ARX wrote it up.
A tornado damaged seven farms, destroying numerous grain bins and outbuildings. Eight cattle were also killed by downed power lines. Hail the size of golf balls was reported by storm spotters.
The radar
The La Crosse radar (KARX), 156 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 01:47 UTC.
Event by event
2 hail, 1 tornado, 1 thunderstorm wind. Local standard time, as filed.
Thunderstorm Wind, Floyd
- When
- August 23, 7:56 PM CST
- Where
- Floyd County, Charles City
- Measured
- 55 kt (63 mph)
- Property damage
- $25,000
- Coordinates
- 43.070, -92.700
Hail, Winneshiek
- When
- August 23, 8:47 PM CST
- Where
- Winneshiek County, 12 mi NE of Decorah
- Measured
- 0.75 in hail
- Crop damage
- $60,000
- Coordinates
- 43.420, -91.630
Hail, Clayton
- When
- August 23, 9:50 PM CST
- Where
- Clayton County, Elkader
- Measured
- 1.75 in hail
- Crop damage
- $40,000
- Coordinates
- 42.850, -91.400
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.
- Hail
- Hail three-quarters of an inch or larger, or smaller hail that caused damage, filed with the largest stone measured.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
The same day elsewhere
- Tornado and Hail in Minnesota, August 23, 1997
- Hail and Damaging Wind in Wisconsin, August 23, 1997
- Flash Flooding in Wisconsin, August 23, 1997
- Damaging Wind in Texas, August 23, 1997
- Damaging Wind in Iowa, August 23, 1997
- Flash Flood in Minnesota, August 23, 1997
- Lightning Strike in New Mexico, August 23, 1997
- Damaging Wind and Lightning Strike in Florida, August 23, 1997
- Hail in Wisconsin, August 23, 1997
- Hail in Minnesota, August 23, 1997
- Hail and Damaging Wind in Minnesota, August 23, 1997
- High Wind in Idaho, August 23, 1997
More
Every storm in Iowa in 1997Every state in 1997This day in weather historyThe tornado archive for Iowa, 1997Warnings in Iowa, August 1997
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: 5610028, 5610031, 5610029, 5610030.