Tornadoes in Iowa
3,079 tornadoes since 1950, an average of 40.5 a year, 7th of the 53 states and territories in the record. They have killed 98 people and injured 2,285. 49 were rated F4 or EF4 and above, 6 of them F5 or EF5.
The rating scale
Tracks are drawn in the color of the rating. The United States rated tornadoes on Ted Fujita’s F scale until 31 January 2007 and on the Enhanced Fujita scale after it. Both run from 0 to 5, and both rate the damage rather than measure the wind: the speeds are what that damage is taken to imply.
F0 / EF040 to 72 mph on the F scale, 65 to 85 mph on the EF scale
Light damage. Surface peeled off some roofs, gutters and siding damaged, branches broken, shallow-rooted trees pushed over.
F1 / EF173 to 112 mph on the F scale, 86 to 110 mph on the EF scale
Moderate damage. Roofs badly stripped, mobile homes overturned or badly damaged, exterior doors lost, windows broken.
F2 / EF2113 to 157 mph on the F scale, 111 to 135 mph on the EF scale
Considerable damage. Roofs torn off well-built houses, frame homes shifted on their foundations, mobile homes destroyed, large trees snapped or uprooted, cars lifted off the ground.
F3 / EF3158 to 206 mph on the F scale, 136 to 165 mph on the EF scale
Severe damage. Whole stories of well-built houses destroyed, large buildings badly damaged, trains overturned, trees debarked, heavy cars lifted and thrown.
F4 / EF4207 to 260 mph on the F scale, 166 to 200 mph on the EF scale
Devastating damage. Well-built houses leveled, structures with weak foundations moved some distance, cars thrown and large missiles generated.
F5 / EF5261 to 318 mph on the F scale, over 200 mph on the EF scale
Incredible damage. Strong frame houses swept off their foundations, car-sized missiles thrown more than 100 meters, steel-reinforced concrete badly damaged, high-rise buildings deformed.
Unrated
The survey recorded a tornado but could not put a number on it, most often because it crossed open country and damaged nothing a rating can be read from.
The deadliest in Iowa
- F5 Charles City tornado, IowaMay 15, 1968
- EF5 Parkersburg–New Hartford tornado, IowaMay 25, 2008
- EF4 Winterset tornado, IowaMarch 5, 2022
- F3, Marshall, Jasper and Poweshiek counties, IowaSeptember 16, 1978
- F5 Belmond tornado, IowaOctober 14, 1966
- EF4 Greenfield tornado, IowaMay 21, 2024
- F5 Oelwein tornado, IowaMay 15, 1968
- EF3, Harrison and Monona counties, IowaJune 11, 2008
- F4, Pocahontas and Calhoun counties, IowaJune 28, 1979
- EF1, Wapello, Keokuk, Iowa and Johnson counties, IowaApril 27, 2014
- F2, Wapello County, IowaApril 11, 2001
- F3, Harrison County, IowaMay 16, 1999
The strongest
- F5 Charles City tornado, IowaMay 15, 1968
- EF5 Parkersburg–New Hartford tornado, IowaMay 25, 2008
- F5 Jordan tornado, IowaJune 13, 1976
- F5 Oelwein tornado, IowaMay 15, 1968
- F5 Belmond tornado, IowaOctober 14, 1966
- F5 Anita–Adair tornado, IowaJune 27, 1953
- F4, Howard, Fillmore, Olmsted, Winona, Buffalo, Trempealeau, Eau Claire and Chippewa counties, Iowa and Minnesota and WisconsinMay 10, 1953
- F4, Cedar, Clinton and Jackson counties, IowaApril 11, 1965
- F4, Linn, Delaware, Clayton and Allamakee counties, IowaApril 30, 1954
- EF4 Winterset tornado, IowaMarch 5, 2022
- F4, Hamilton, Story, Hardin and Marshall counties, IowaMay 24, 1989
- F4, Union, Adair, Guthrie and Dallas counties, IowaMay 27, 1995
The longest paths
- F4, Howard, Fillmore, Olmsted, Winona, Buffalo, Trempealeau, Eau Claire and Chippewa counties, Iowa and Minnesota and WisconsinMay 10, 1953
- F3, Story, Hardin, Butler and Chickasaw counties, IowaMay 20, 1953
- F2, Madison, Warren, Polk and Jasper counties, IowaJune 7, 1953
- F0, Washington, Louisa, Muscatine and Scott counties, IowaApril 3, 1981
- F4, Cedar, Clinton and Jackson counties, IowaApril 11, 1965
- F3, Marshall, Tama, Benton and Linn counties, IowaApril 23, 1961
- F2, Lee, Des Moines, Louisa and Muscatine counties, IowaApril 30, 1954
- F4, Linn, Delaware, Clayton and Allamakee counties, IowaApril 30, 1954
- F2, Davis, Wapello, Jefferson and Washington counties, IowaMay 8, 1988
- EF4 Winterset tornado, IowaMarch 5, 2022
- F2, Decatur, Wayne, Appanoose and Davis counties, IowaApril 23, 1961
- F3, Plymouth, Woodbury, Cherokee and O'Brien counties, IowaMay 5, 1964
The costliest
- EF4 Winterset tornado, IowaMarch 5, 2022
- EF3, Marshall County, IowaJuly 19, 2018
- EF3, Marion and Mahaska counties, IowaJuly 19, 2018
- EF5 Parkersburg–New Hartford tornado, IowaMay 25, 2008
- EF4 Greenfield tornado, IowaMay 21, 2024
- EF3, Louisa and Muscatine counties, IowaJune 1, 2007
- F3, Washington, Johnson and Cedar counties, IowaMay 15, 1998
- EF3, Sac, Buena Vista and Pocahontas counties, IowaApril 9, 2011
- F3, Boone, Webster and Hamilton counties, IowaNovember 12, 2005
- F2, Johnson County, IowaApril 13, 2006
- F2, Boone, Dallas and Polk counties, IowaJune 29, 1998
- EF1, Taylor County, IowaMay 11, 2011
The biggest days in Iowa
Every year
Every year of the published record, and above it the 89 tornado tracks surveyed in Iowa so far in 2026. This year's figures are preliminary and are not in the totals above, which are SPC's published database.
| Year | Tornadoes | Deaths | Injuries | F4 and above |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 preliminary | 89 | 1 | ||
| 2025 | 32 | |||
| 2024 | 124 | 6 | 44 | 1 |
| 2023 | 72 | 11 | 1 | |
| 2022 | 42 | 7 | 7 | 1 |
| 2021 | 119 | 1 | ||
| 2020 | 28 | |||
| 2019 | 56 | 1 | 2 | |
| 2018 | 69 | 35 | ||
| 2017 | 52 | 6 | ||
| 2016 | 45 | 12 | ||
| 2015 | 58 | 5 | ||
| 2014 | 89 | 2 | ||
| 2013 | 25 | 1 | 1 | |
| 2012 | 16 | 6 | ||
| 2011 | 51 | 19 | 1 | |
| 2010 | 33 | 14 | 1 | |
| 2009 | 25 | |||
| 2008 | 105 | 13 | 133 | 1 |
| 2007 | 44 | 7 | ||
| 2006 | 38 | 1 | 32 | |
| 2005 | 44 | 1 | 14 | |
| 2004 | 120 | 15 | ||
| 2003 | 28 | |||
| 2002 | 31 | |||
| 2001 | 104 | 2 | 12 | |
| 2000 | 45 | 1 | 26 | |
| 1999 | 58 | 2 | 28 | 2 |
| 1998 | 72 | 133 | ||
| 1997 | 25 | |||
| 1996 | 22 | 2 | ||
| 1995 | 42 | 3 | 3 | |
| 1994 | 49 | 1 | ||
| 1993 | 51 | 9 | ||
| 1992 | 29 | 3 | ||
| 1991 | 53 | 4 | ||
| 1990 | 71 | 17 | 1 | |
| 1989 | 29 | 9 | 3 | |
| 1988 | 49 | 92 | ||
| 1987 | 36 | |||
| 1986 | 41 | 1 | 9 | 1 |
| 1985 | 27 | 2 | 32 | |
| 1984 | 59 | 1 | 37 | |
| 1983 | 29 | 32 | ||
| 1982 | 34 | 1 | ||
| 1981 | 30 | 12 | ||
| 1980 | 40 | 8 | 1 | |
| 1979 | 51 | 7 | 98 | 1 |
| 1978 | 23 | 6 | 47 | |
| 1977 | 36 | 23 | 1 | |
| 1976 | 18 | 17 | 2 | |
| 1975 | 37 | 7 | ||
| 1974 | 27 | 3 | 106 | 3 |
| 1973 | 32 | 2 | 21 | |
| 1972 | 24 | 3 | ||
| 1971 | 33 | 1 | 27 | 1 |
| 1970 | 21 | |||
| 1969 | 28 | |||
| 1968 | 25 | 18 | 636 | 2 |
| 1967 | 52 | 3 | 38 | 3 |
| 1966 | 39 | 6 | 176 | 1 |
| 1965 | 46 | 2 | 55 | 4 |
| 1964 | 54 | 1 | 73 | 3 |
| 1963 | 15 | 2 | ||
| 1962 | 12 | 1 | 5 | |
| 1961 | 13 | 1 | 24 | 1 |
| 1960 | 27 | 1 | 5 | |
| 1959 | 25 | 7 | 2 | |
| 1958 | 14 | 2 | ||
| 1957 | 17 | 1 | ||
| 1956 | 7 | 9 | ||
| 1955 | 7 | |||
| 1954 | 17 | 1 | 2 | 2 |
| 1953 | 23 | 4 | 41 | 4 |
| 1952 | 6 | 5 | 1 | |
| 1951 | 5 | 17 | ||
| 1950 | 4 | 5 |
Every county in Iowa
A tornado is counted once for every county its path crossed, so these add up to more than 3,079. Each county has a page of its own: every tornado that crossed it, year by year.
Nearby
Warnings in force in IowaForecast for your townThe live radar over Iowa
What this means
Ratings are the survey's, read off the damage rather than measured; the rating scale is above. Tornado counts rise through the record as reporting improved, so a year in the 1950s is not comparable with one today except for the strongest tornadoes, which were always noticed.
Sources
NOAA Storm Prediction Center tornado database, 1950-2025, the official record kept by NOAA's Storm Prediction Center.