Storms in Iowa in 2018

2,735 events in 314 episodes

Every storm the National Weather Service filed in Iowa in 2018, with each episode’s narrative and every event in it. From 1996 the record holds 48 kinds of event with each office’s narrative; before that, tornadoes, hail and thunderstorm wind only, and before 1955 tornadoes alone.

Iowa in 2018 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

Open the live radar over Iowa

The year

Events: 2,735
Deaths: 3
Injuries: 52
Damage: $363 million
Episodes: 314

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
Heavy Rain	513	0	0
Thunderstorm Wind	473	0	4	$113,000
Flood	391	0	3	$13 million
Hail	376	0	1	$3.9 million
Winter Weather	186	2	4	$10,000
Flash Flood	132	1	0	$20 million
Winter Storm	126	0	0	$7,000
Extreme Cold/Wind Chill	101	0	0
Tornado	76	0	38	$326 million
Blizzard	75	0	0
Funnel Cloud	71	0	0
Frost/Freeze	66	0	0
Heavy Snow	37	0	2	$10,000
Drought	35	0	0
Cold/Wind Chill	30	0	0
Lightning	15	0	0	$125,000
High Wind	14	0	0
Heat	13	0	0
Excessive Heat	4	0	0
Strong Wind	1	0	0	$1,000

Every episode, month by month

January 2018

February 2018

March 2018

April 2018

May 2018

June 2018

July 2018

August 2018

September 2018

October 2018

November 2018

December 2018

Every year in Iowa Every state in 2018 Tornadoes in Iowa in 2018 Warnings in Iowa in 2018 2017 2019

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.