Tornadoes · United States · Iowa

Tornadoes in Clarke County, Iowa

21 tornadoes have crossed Clarke County since 1950, 89th of the 99 counties in Iowa with a tornado on record, an average of one every 3.6 years. They have killed 0 people and injured 0. 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
21
Deaths
0
Injuries
0
F4 and above
0
Worst on record
F3, April 11, 2001

The strongest

  1. F3, Worth, Gentry, Ringgold, Union, Clarke and Madison counties, Missouri and IowaApril 11, 2001F3, 76.5 mi (123 km)
  2. F3, Harrison, Decatur and Clarke counties, Missouri and IowaMay 27, 1995F3, 30.4 mi (49 km)
  3. F2, Clarke County, IowaJune 22, 1964F2, 12.8 mi (21 km)
  4. F2, Clarke County, IowaMay 7, 1975F2, 10.0 mi (16 km)
  5. F2, Clarke County, IowaJune 9, 1967F2, 7.8 mi (13 km)
  6. EF2, Clarke County, IowaApril 26, 2024EF2, 5.8 mi (9 km)
  7. F2, Clarke County, IowaSeptember 20, 1965F2, 3.3 mi (5 km)
  8. F2, Clarke County, IowaApril 19, 1973F2, 2.0 mi (3 km)
  9. F2, Clarke County, IowaJuly 13, 1986F2, 1.0 mi (2 km)

Every year with a tornado

The 14 years of the 76 in the record with a tornado in Clarke County. Each year links to every tornado in Iowa that year.

YearTornadoesDeathsInjuriesStrongest
20243EF2
20181EF1
20141EF0
20084EF1
20011F3
19951F3
19861F2
19811F1
19802F1
19751F2
19732F2
19671F2
19651F2
19641F2

Every tornado that crossed Clarke County

21 tornadoes, newest first. 2 of them touched down in a neighboring state and ran in, so the record files them under that state rather than Iowa.

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
May 6, 202412:53 AM CDTEF0Clarke2.080$100,000
May 6, 202412:38 AM CDTEF1Clarke6.280$250,000
April 26, 20248:31 PM CDTEF2Clarke5.875$400,000
October 8, 20187:53 PM CDTEF1Clarke4.9250$15,000
March 27, 20144:41 PM CDTEF0Clarke0.775$50,000
June 5, 200811:49 PM CDTEF1Clarke7.6125
June 4, 20089:58 PM CDTEF1Union10.9100$5,000
May 30, 20084:13 AM CDTEF1Clarke9.1150$50,000
May 25, 20086:25 PM CDTEF1Clarke6.850
April 11, 200111:30 AM CDTF3Worth to IA76.5500$1.9 million
May 27, 199510:03 PM CDTF3Harrison to IA30.4150$50,000 to $500,000
July 13, 198611:47 PM CDTF2Clarke1.050$50,000 to $500,000
June 7, 19817:18 PM CDTF1Clarke0.130$500 to $5,000
June 14, 19808:05 PM CDTF1Warren9.330$50,000 to $500,000
June 14, 19808:05 PM CDTF1Warren9.330$50,000 to $500,000
May 7, 19758:30 PM CDTF2Clarke10.010$50,000 to $500,000
June 16, 19736:45 PM CDTF0Clarke1.050$5,000 to $50,000
April 19, 19738:00 PM CSTF2Clarke2.0400$5,000 to $50,000
June 9, 196712:00 AM GMT-5F2Clarke7.8300$50,000 to $500,000
September 20, 19657:30 PM GMT-5F2Clarke3.3150$50,000 to $500,000
June 22, 19648:00 PM GMT-5F2Clarke12.8400$50,000 to $500,000

Nearby

Warnings in force in Clarke CountyThe forecast for Clarke CountyThe live radar over Clarke 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.