Tornadoes · United States · Iowa

Tornadoes in Buchanan County, Iowa

51 tornadoes have crossed Buchanan County since 1950, 2 of them surveyed so far this year and still preliminary, 13th of the 99 counties in Iowa with a tornado on record, an average of one every 1.5 years. They have killed 2 people and injured 39. None was rated F4 or above.

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.

  1. 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.

  2. 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.

  3. 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.

  4. 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.

  5. 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.

  6. 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.

  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.

Now

Tornadoes
51
Deaths
2
Injuries
39
F4 and above
0
Worst on record
F3, May 11, 2000

The deadliest in Buchanan County

  1. F3, Black Hawk and Buchanan counties, IowaMay 11, 20001 killed, 25 injured
  2. F3, Grundy, Black Hawk and Buchanan counties, IowaApril 16, 19601 killed, 5 injured

The strongest

  1. EF3, Buchanan and Delaware counties, IowaMay 25, 2008EF3, 32.0 mi (51 km)
  2. F3, Grundy, Black Hawk and Buchanan counties, IowaApril 16, 1960F3, 29.8 mi (48 km)
  3. F3, Buchanan and Delaware counties, IowaJuly 27, 1995F3, 20.0 mi (32 km)
  4. F3, Black Hawk and Buchanan counties, IowaMay 11, 2000F3, 18.6 mi (30 km)
  5. F3, Buchanan County, IowaMay 7, 1964F3, 2.3 mi (4 km)
  6. F2, Buchanan County, IowaJune 18, 1998F2, 20.0 mi (32 km)
  7. F2, Buchanan County, IowaJuly 1, 1950F2, 14.0 mi (23 km)
  8. F2, Buchanan and Delaware counties, IowaJune 2, 1990F2, 10.5 mi (17 km)
  9. EF2, Buchanan County, IowaAugust 7, 2026EF2, 5.0 mi (8 km)
  10. EF2, Benton and Buchanan counties, IowaMarch 31, 2023EF2, 4.9 mi (8 km)

Every year with a tornado

The 28 years of the 76 in the record with a tornado in Buchanan County. Each year links to every tornado in Iowa that year.

YearTornadoesDeathsInjuriesStrongest
20262EF2
20241EF1
20232EF2
20222Unrated
20212EF0
20201EF1
20191Unrated
20181EF1
20161EF1
20141EF1
20091EF1
200823EF3
20051F0
20042F0
2001113F2
20004125F3
19982F2
19951F3
19902F2
19891F1
19882F1
19821F1
19672F1
196411F3
196112F1
1960115F3
19541F2
19501F2

Every tornado that crossed Buchanan County

51 tornadoes, newest first. The 2 at the top are this year's, from the surveying office rather than SPC's published database, and their ratings are marked as preliminary.

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
April 14, 20265:25 PM CDTEF1Buchanan4.350
August 7, 20264:12 PM CDTEF2Buchanan5.0150
April 16, 20243:02 PM CDTEF1Buchanan10.0125
March 31, 20235:03 PM CDTUnratedBuchanan1.710
March 31, 20234:47 PM CDTEF2Benton4.950
July 5, 20229:00 PM CDTUnratedBuchanan0.720
July 5, 20228:44 PM CDTUnratedBuchanan1.420
July 14, 20217:10 PM CDTUnratedBuchanan0.110
July 14, 20216:43 PM CDTEF0Buchanan3.230$275,000
March 28, 20206:15 PM CDTEF1Buchanan7.450
June 9, 20193:53 PM CDTUnratedBuchanan7.310
June 9, 20189:36 PM CDTEF1Buchanan0.120
July 23, 20164:05 PM CDTEF1Buchanan0.125
June 16, 20149:30 PM CDTEF1Buchanan1.350$50,000
August 19, 20094:30 PM CDTEF1Buchanan2.2100$75,000
May 25, 20086:40 PM CDTEF1Buchanan3.5100$50,000
May 25, 20086:05 PM CDTEF3Buchanan32.01,2323$1.1 million
August 11, 20058:46 PM CDTF0Buchanan3.420
May 30, 20043:51 PM CDTF0Buchanan0.340$10,000
May 30, 20043:50 PM CDTF0Buchanan0.230
September 6, 20016:35 PM CDTF0Buchanan3.540$100,000
September 6, 20016:30 PM CDTF2Buchanan1.050$300,000
June 1, 20015:34 PM CDTF0Buchanan0.110
June 1, 20015:29 PM CDTF0Buchanan0.110$10,000
June 1, 20015:11 PM CDTF0Buchanan0.110
June 1, 20015:06 PM CDTF0Buchanan3.0150$20,000
June 1, 20015:01 PM CDTF0Buchanan0.110
June 1, 20014:58 PM CDTF0Buchanan0.110
June 1, 20014:55 PM CDTF1Buchanan1.0150$120,000
May 10, 20015:14 PM CDTF0Buchanan0.110
April 23, 20018:26 AM CDTF1Buchanan5.02203$1.0 million
May 11, 20008:45 PM CDTF0Buchanan5.5220$50,000
May 11, 20008:20 PM CDTF1Buchanan8.0330$1.5 million
May 11, 20008:19 PM CDTF0Buchanan0.110$2,000
May 11, 20007:03 PM CDTF3Black Hawk18.6210125$1.8 million
June 18, 19983:40 PM CDTF1Buchanan15.030$40,000
June 18, 19983:30 PM CDTF2Buchanan20.030$800,000
July 27, 19953:50 PM CDTF3Buchanan20.0150$500,000 to $5 million
August 29, 19903:00 PM CDTF0Buchanan0.113
June 2, 199012:43 PM CDTF2Buchanan10.567$50,000 to $500,000
April 26, 19893:14 PM CDTF1Buchanan0.110$500 to $5,000
July 9, 19883:00 PM CDTF0Buchanan0.313$50,000 to $500,000
May 8, 19882:06 PM CDTF1Black Hawk2.020$50,000 to $500,000
July 6, 19828:20 PM CDTF1Buchanan0.210$5,000 to $50,000
May 18, 19676:30 PM GMT-5F1Buchanan0.110$5,000 to $50,000
April 30, 19678:00 PM GMT-5F1Buchanan0.150
May 7, 19646:10 PM GMT-5F3Buchanan2.32001$50,000 to $500,000
May 14, 196112:30 PM GMT-5F1Buchanan7.21502$5,000 to $50,000
April 16, 19602:30 PM GMT-6F3Grundy29.880015$50,000 to $500,000
April 30, 19548:30 PM GMT-5F2Buchanan1.0200
July 1, 19509:00 PM GMT-5F2Buchanan14.010

Nearby

Warnings in force in Buchanan CountyThe forecast for Buchanan CountyThe live radar over Buchanan CountyEvery county in 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.