Tornadoes · United States · Iowa

Tornadoes in Dubuque County, Iowa

36 tornadoes have crossed Dubuque County since 1950, 1 of them surveyed so far this year and still preliminary, 47th of the 99 counties in Iowa with a tornado on record, an average of one every 2.1 years. They have killed 0 people and injured 4. 1 was rated F4 or EF4 and 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
36
Deaths
0
Injuries
4
F4 and above
1
Worst on record
F4, March 13, 1990

The strongest

Every year with a tornado

The 26 years of the 76 in the record with a tornado in Dubuque County. Each year links to every tornado in Iowa that year.

YearTornadoesDeathsInjuriesStrongest
20261EF1
20252EF1
20231Unrated
20212EF1
20201EF1
20191EF1
20171EF0
20161EF0
20151EF1
20081EF1
20071EF0
19982F0
19961F0
19931F3
199111F2
19902F4
19882F1
19801F1
197213F2
19703F3
19692F2
19671F2
19661F2
19652F2
19582F2
19541F2

Every tornado that crossed Dubuque County

36 tornadoes, newest first. The 1 at the top is this year's, from the surveying office rather than SPC's published database, and its rating is marked as preliminary.

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
April 14, 20266:36 PM CDTEF1Dubuque3.425
July 11, 20254:45 PM CDTEF1Dubuque0.925
July 11, 20254:32 PM CDTEF0Dubuque3.450
August 14, 20231:25 PM CDTUnratedDubuque1.220
August 11, 20215:40 PM CDTEF0Dubuque0.620
June 20, 20218:06 PM CDTEF1Dubuque3.430
March 28, 20208:25 PM CDTEF1Dubuque3.850
August 5, 201910:07 PM CDTEF1Dubuque0.350
March 6, 20179:50 PM CSTEF0Dubuque5.725$5,000
July 23, 20164:46 PM CDTEF0Dubuque0.825
December 23, 20155:38 PM CSTEF1Dubuque1.125
May 25, 20087:31 PM CDTEF1Delaware8.5250$350,000
May 26, 20074:43 PM CDTEF0Dubuque0.850$1,000
May 28, 19987:32 PM CDTF0Dubuque0.130
May 15, 19987:10 PM CDTF0Dubuque0.330
June 16, 19967:58 PM CDTF0Dubuque0.110
June 19, 19934:42 PM CDTF3Dubuque to IL, WI14.0300$50,000 to $500,000
March 27, 199112:18 PM CSTF2Jackson1.51001$50,000 to $500,000
March 13, 19905:55 PM CSTF1Dubuque3.023$5,000 to $50,000
March 13, 19904:53 PM CSTF4Linn19.0200$5 million to $50 million
May 8, 19883:46 PM CDTF0Dubuque0.520$5,000 to $50,000
May 8, 19883:36 PM CDTF1Dubuque11.043$500,000 to $5 million
June 2, 19806:20 PM CDTF1Dubuque3.650$50,000 to $500,000
September 28, 19722:50 PM CDTF2Linn64.52,2003$500,000 to $5 million
September 9, 19706:25 PM CDTF3Dubuque4.7300
September 9, 19705:40 PM CDTF2Dubuque1.0100$50,000 to $500,000
July 31, 19707:00 PM CDTF1Dubuque1.0200$5,000 to $50,000
June 29, 19698:12 PM GMT-5F2Dubuque0.1200$5,000 to $50,000
June 4, 19693:15 PM GMT-5F0Dubuque0.110
April 30, 196710:00 PM GMT-5F2Dubuque2.0400$50,000 to $500,000
July 9, 196612:30 PM GMT-5F2Dubuque0.1250$5,000 to $50,000
August 26, 19657:45 PM GMT-5F2Dubuque0.5100$5,000 to $50,000
June 27, 196511:00 PM GMT-5F1Dubuque0.1100$500 to $5,000
July 29, 19585:00 AM GMT-5F2Dubuque14.5200$5,000 to $50,000
June 10, 19582:30 PM GMT-5F1Dubuque1.050$500 to $5,000
April 30, 19548:05 PM GMT-5F2Jones16.650

Nearby

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