Tornadoes · United States · Iowa

1988 tornadoes in Iowa

49 tornadoes touched down in Iowa in 1988, 21 percent above the average of the record for the state. None of them killed anybody.

1987 1989 The whole country in 1988

The rating scale

Tracks are drawn in the color of the rating. The Fujita scale rates the damage rather than measuring the wind: the speeds are what that damage is taken to imply.

  1. F040 to 72 mph

    Light damage. Surface peeled off some roofs, gutters and siding damaged, branches broken, shallow-rooted trees pushed over.

  2. F173 to 112 mph

    Moderate damage. Roofs badly stripped, mobile homes overturned or badly damaged, exterior doors lost, windows broken.

  3. F2113 to 157 mph

    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.

  4. F3158 to 206 mph

    Severe damage. Whole stories of well-built houses destroyed, large buildings badly damaged, trains overturned, trees debarked, heavy cars lifted and thrown.

  5. F4207 to 260 mph

    Devastating damage. Well-built houses leveled, structures with weak foundations moved some distance, cars thrown and large missiles generated.

  6. F5261 to 318 mph

    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.

  7. 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.

Every tornado in Iowa in 1988

March 24 4 tornadoes

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
March 242:45 PM CSTF1Cerro Gordo1.020$50,000 to $500,000
March 243:15 PM CSTF1Floyd1.020$50,000 to $500,000
March 244:22 PM CSTF0Mitchell0.113$500 to $5,000
March 245:15 PM CSTF2Fayette9.0100$500,000 to $5 million

March 25 1 tornado

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
March 254:13 PM CSTF0Jackson0.220$5,000 to $50,000

April 2 1 tornado

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
April 24:30 PM CSTF1Cedar2.520$50,000 to $500,000

May 7 2 tornadoes

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
May 78:45 PM CDTF0Crawford2.020$500 to $5,000
May 711:10 PM CDTF2Pottawattamie7.273$500,000 to $5 million

May 8 22 tornadoes

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
May 811:56 AM CDTF1Warren11.030$50,000 to $500,000
May 81:10 PM CDTF1Wayne2.030$50,000 to $500,000
May 81:25 PM CDTF2Wayne47.043$50,000 to $500,000
May 81:47 PM CDTF2Davis71.060$5 million to $50 million
May 81:58 PM CDTF2Poweshiek59.060$500,000 to $5 million
May 82:06 PM CDTF1Black Hawk2.020$50,000 to $500,000
May 82:06 PM CDTF1Mahaska6.040$50,000 to $500,000
May 82:15 PM CDTF1Bremer1.533$50,000 to $500,000
May 82:16 PM CDTF2Keokuk36.060$50,000 to $500,000
May 83:00 PM CDTF0Johnson1.020$500 to $5,000
May 83:10 PM CDTF1Muscatine1.540$50,000 to $500,000
May 83:15 PM CDTF0Delaware0.520$5,000 to $50,000
May 83:15 PM CDTF1Jones10.040$50,000 to $500,000
May 83:15 PM CDTF0Jones1.020$5,000 to $50,000
May 83:20 PM CDTF1Des Moines1.030$50,000 to $500,000
May 83:22 PM CDTF0Delaware0.520$5,000 to $50,000
May 83:35 PM CDTF0Scott1.020$5,000 to $50,000
May 83:36 PM CDTF1Dubuque11.043$500,000 to $5 million
May 83:37 PM CDTF2Cedar7.090$500,000 to $5 million
May 83:40 PM CDTF0Scott1.020$5,000 to $50,000
May 83:43 PM CDTF3Scott32.0150$5 million to $50 million
May 83:46 PM CDTF0Dubuque0.520$5,000 to $50,000

May 21 1 tornado

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
May 211:06 PM CDTF0Fremont0.520$5,000 to $50,000

July 9 1 tornado

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
July 93:00 PM CDTF0Buchanan0.313$50,000 to $500,000

July 15 5 tornadoes

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
July 154:14 PM CDTF2Pottawattamie2.310042$5 million to $50 million
July 154:16 PM CDTF3Pottawattamie2.87334$5 million to $50 million
July 154:19 PM CDTF1Pottawattamie3.07312$5 million to $50 million
July 157:20 PM CDTF0Guthrie0.313$5,000 to $50,000
July 157:45 PM CDTF1Adair0.833$50,000 to $500,000

August 8 1 tornado

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
August 84:30 PM CDTF0Clinton0.513$50,000 to $500,000

August 22 3 tornadoes

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
August 223:40 AM CDTF1Webster0.520$50,000 to $500,000
August 224:00 AM CDTF0Mills0.520$50,000 to $500,000
August 222:30 PM CDTF1Adams4.250$50,000 to $500,000

November 15 8 tornadoes

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
November 154:09 PM CSTF0Wayne0.210$50 to $500
November 154:29 PM CSTF2Monroe4.0604$50,000 to $500,000
November 156:25 PM CSTF1Keokuk19.050$50,000 to $500,000
November 156:50 PM CSTF0Keokuk0.520$5,000 to $50,000
November 156:50 PM CSTF1Bremer1.020$50,000 to $500,000
November 157:08 PM CSTF2Wapello6.063$50,000 to $500,000
November 159:05 PM CSTF2Delaware11.063$50,000 to $500,000
November 159:22 PM CSTF0Clayton0.220$5,000 to $50,000

Nearby

Every tornado in Iowa since 1950Warnings in force in IowaThe 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.