Tornadoes · United States · Iowa

2001 tornadoes in Iowa

104 tornadoes touched down in Iowa in 2001, 157 percent above the average of the record for the state. They killed 2 people and injured 12.

2000 2002 The whole country in 2001

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.

F040 to 72 mph
Light damage. Surface peeled off some roofs, gutters and siding damaged, branches broken, shallow-rooted trees pushed over.
F173 to 112 mph
Moderate damage. Roofs badly stripped, mobile homes overturned or badly damaged, exterior doors lost, windows broken.
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.
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.
F4207 to 260 mph
Devastating damage. Well-built houses leveled, structures with weak foundations moved some distance, cars thrown and large missiles generated.
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.
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 2001

April 8 5 tornadoes

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Injuries	Damage
April 8	9:25 PM CDT	F0	Dallas	0.2	20
April 8	9:38 PM CDT	F0	Decatur	0.3	30		$1,000
April 8	9:50 PM CDT	F0	Benton	0.1	10
April 8	10:49 PM CDT	F1	Adams	1.0	50	1	$100,000
April 8	10:50 PM CDT	F0	Tama	0.1	20

April 11 27 tornadoes

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Deaths	Injuries	Damage
April 11	12:37 PM CDT	F0	Mills	2.0	40			$20,000
April 11	12:45 PM CDT	F1	Mills	2.0	40			$50,000
April 11	12:55 PM CDT	F1	Pottawattamie	0.5	40			$110,000
April 11	12:55 PM CDT	F0	Pottawattamie	2.0	30
April 11	1:00 PM CDT	F0	Pottawattamie	0.2	30
April 11	1:30 PM CDT	F0	Shelby	0.2	30			$10,000
April 11	1:37 PM CDT	F0	Polk	0.5	35
April 11	2:25 PM CDT	F1	Guthrie	2.0	75			$60,000
April 11	2:45 PM CDT	F0	Greene	0.5	25
April 11	3:04 PM CDT	F0	Boone	0.7	25			$10,000
April 11	3:05 PM CDT	F0	Greene	1.0	35			$10,000
April 11	3:06 PM CDT	F1	Boone	3.0	140			$150,000
April 11	3:10 PM CDT	F1	Boone	4.0	40			$70,000
April 11	3:37 PM CDT	F0	Webster	0.2	25			$30,000
April 11	3:38 PM CDT	F1	Hamilton	2.2	50			$70,000
April 11	3:40 PM CDT	F1	Jasper	17.5	45			$10,000
April 11	4:00 PM CDT	F2	Wapello	8.4	100	2	3	$400,000
April 11	4:25 PM CDT	F0	Keokuk	3.0	50			$90,000
April 11	4:40 PM CDT	F0	Iowa	0.1	10
April 11	4:50 PM CDT	F0	Washington	0.1	10
April 11	5:00 PM CDT	F0	Johnson	2.0	50			$30,000
April 11	5:02 PM CDT	F0	Johnson	0.1	10
April 11	5:07 PM CDT	F1	Black Hawk	10.0	50			$120,000
April 11	5:20 PM CDT	F0	Johnson	0.1	10
April 11	5:20 PM CDT	F0	Linn	0.1	10
April 11	5:20 PM CDT	F0	Benton	0.1	10			$20,000
April 11	5:50 PM CDT	F1	Fayette	2.0	75		1	$40,000

April 15 1 tornado

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Deaths	Injuries	Damage
April 15	3:15 PM CDT	F0	Clinton	0.1	10

April 20 1 tornado

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Deaths	Injuries	Damage
April 20	12:46 AM CDT	F1	Hardin	0.6	50			$500,000

April 23 2 tornadoes

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Deaths	Injuries	Damage
April 23	8:15 AM CDT	F0	Black Hawk	0.3	30			$40,000
April 23	8:26 AM CDT	F1	Buchanan	5.0	220		3	$1.0 million

April 30 3 tornadoes

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)
April 30	5:30 PM CDT	F0	O'Brien	3.0	100
April 30	5:35 PM CDT	F0	O'Brien	3.0	100
April 30	7:59 PM CDT	F0	Woodbury	3.0	100

May 10 12 tornadoes

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Damage
May 10	4:37 PM CDT	F0	Greene	0.2	25	$1,000
May 10	5:04 PM CDT	F2	Grundy	1.7	200	$150,000
May 10	5:14 PM CDT	F0	Buchanan	0.1	10
May 10	5:15 PM CDT	F2	Grundy	8.0	875	$70,000
May 10	5:20 PM CDT	F1	Grundy	1.0	100	$50,000
May 10	5:27 PM CDT	F0	Story	0.3	30	$10,000
May 10	5:29 PM CDT	F1	Boone	1.0	50	$10,000
May 10	5:38 PM CDT	F0	Delaware	0.1	10
May 10	5:40 PM CDT	F0	Tama	0.2	25	$1,000
May 10	5:43 PM CDT	F0	Tama	0.2	25	$1,000
May 10	6:00 PM CDT	F0	Clayton	1.0	75	$10,000
May 10	9:18 PM CDT	F0	Scott	0.5	70	$70,000

June 1 18 tornadoes

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Damage
June 1	1:25 PM CDT	F0	Crawford	0.2	30
June 1	1:40 PM CDT	F0	Crawford	0.3	35	$30,000
June 1	1:50 PM CDT	F0	Crawford	0.1	25
June 1	3:35 PM CDT	F0	Black Hawk	0.2	30
June 1	4:12 PM CDT	F1	Bremer	8.5	100	$30,000
June 1	4:13 PM CDT	F0	Butler	0.1	25
June 1	4:25 PM CDT	F0	Black Hawk	0.2	30
June 1	4:30 PM CDT	F0	Black Hawk	0.1	25
June 1	4:30 PM CDT	F0	Black Hawk	0.2	30	$3,000
June 1	4:52 PM CDT	F0	Black Hawk	0.6	35	$10,000
June 1	4:55 PM CDT	F1	Buchanan	1.0	150	$120,000
June 1	4:58 PM CDT	F0	Buchanan	0.1	10
June 1	5:01 PM CDT	F0	Buchanan	0.1	10
June 1	5:06 PM CDT	F0	Buchanan	3.0	150	$20,000
June 1	5:11 PM CDT	F0	Buchanan	0.1	10
June 1	5:12 PM CDT	F0	Delaware	0.1	10
June 1	5:29 PM CDT	F0	Buchanan	0.1	10	$10,000
June 1	5:34 PM CDT	F0	Buchanan	0.1	10

June 12 6 tornadoes

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)
June 12	11:25 AM CDT	F0	Poweshiek	0.2	25
June 12	6:45 PM CDT	F0	Sioux	0.1	50
June 12	9:12 PM CDT	F0	Lyon	0.1	50
June 12	9:26 PM CDT	F0	Dickinson	0.1	50
June 12	9:45 PM CDT	F0	Osceola	0.1	50
June 12	9:46 PM CDT	F0	Dickinson	0.5	50

June 13 5 tornadoes

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Damage
June 13	8:52 PM CDT	F0	Osceola	0.1	50
June 13	9:20 PM CDT	F1	O'Brien	7.0	200	$200,000
June 13	9:20 PM CDT	F0	Monona	0.1	30
June 13	10:10 PM CDT	F0	Ida	0.1	50
June 13	10:18 PM CDT	F0	Cherokee	0.1	50

June 14 3 tornadoes

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Injuries	Damage
June 14	4:45 PM CDT	F1	Mahaska	0.1	100		$40,000
June 14	6:01 PM CDT	F2	Scott	6.5	200	3
June 14	6:11 PM CDT	F1	Scott	3.0	500

June 18 2 tornadoes

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Deaths	Injuries	Damage
June 18	7:59 PM CDT	F0	Harrison	0.2	25
June 18	9:25 PM CDT	F0	Carroll	0.2	30

July 24 1 tornado

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Deaths	Injuries	Damage
July 24	4:36 PM CDT	F0	Polk	0.2	25

August 17 10 tornadoes

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Damage
August 17	5:29 PM CDT	F1	Sioux	3.0	100	$100,000
August 17	5:34 PM CDT	F0	Plymouth	0.1	5
August 17	5:35 PM CDT	F1	Sioux	1.0	100	$50,000
August 17	5:51 PM CDT	F0	Woodbury	0.1	50
August 17	5:55 PM CDT	F0	Woodbury	0.1	50
August 17	6:00 PM CDT	F0	Cherokee	0.1	50
August 17	6:39 PM CDT	F0	Monona	4.0	20	$10,000
August 17	7:25 PM CDT	F0	Woodbury	0.1	50
August 17	7:47 PM CDT	F0	Monona	0.2	30
August 17	8:18 PM CDT	F1	Crawford	6.3	50	$200,000

September 6 6 tornadoes

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Injuries	Damage
September 6	2:52 PM CDT	F0	Madison	0.5	20
September 6	3:34 PM CDT	F1	Polk	2.8	50	1	$500,000
September 6	5:39 PM CDT	F2	Butler	11.5	100		$180,000
September 6	6:21 PM CDT	F1	Fayette	6.0	100		$30,000
September 6	6:30 PM CDT	F2	Buchanan	1.0	50		$300,000
September 6	6:35 PM CDT	F0	Buchanan	3.5	40		$100,000

September 20 2 tornadoes

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Deaths	Injuries	Damage
September 20	5:30 PM CDT	F0	Lucas	0.9	70			$50,000
September 20	6:09 PM CDT	F1	Appanoose	0.5	50			$10,000

Crossed into Iowa

Tornadoes that touched down in a neighboring state and ran into Iowa. They are counted under the state they began in.

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Deaths	Injuries	Damage
April 11	11:30 AM CDT	F3	Worth, MO to IA	76.5	500			$1.9 million

Nearby

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