Tornadoes · United States · Iowa

Tornadoes in Floyd County, Iowa

27 tornadoes have crossed Floyd County since 1950, 80th of the 99 counties in Iowa with a tornado on record, an average of one every 2.8 years. They have killed 13 people and injured 475. 2 were rated F4 or EF4 and above, 1 at the top of the scale.

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
27
Deaths
13
Injuries
475
F4 and above
2
Worst on record
F5, May 15, 1968

The deadliest in Floyd County

  1. F5 Charles City tornado, IowaMay 15, 196813 killed, 462 injured

The strongest

  1. F5 Charles City tornado, IowaMay 15, 1968F5, 62.1 mi (100 km)
  2. F4, Floyd, Howard and Winneshiek counties, IowaMay 5, 1965F4, 41.6 mi (67 km)
  3. F2, Floyd County, IowaJuly 10, 1993F2, 12.0 mi (19 km)
  4. F2, Floyd County, IowaAugust 27, 1964F2, 1.0 mi (2 km)
  5. F2, Floyd County, IowaSeptember 28, 1986F2, 0.2 mi (0 km)

Every year with a tornado

The 20 years of the 76 in the record with a tornado in Floyd County. Each year links to every tornado in Iowa that year.

YearTornadoesDeathsInjuriesStrongest
20241EF0
20221EF0
20217EF1
20191EF1
20161EF0
20131EF0
20041F0
19991F1
19971F1
19941F1
19931F2
19901F1
19881F1
198612F2
19842F0
19751F0
1968113462F5
1965111F4
19641F2
19591F1

Every tornado that crossed Floyd County

27 tornadoes, newest first.

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
May 9, 20241:03 PM CDTEF0Floyd0.630
April 12, 202210:41 PM CDTEF0Floyd8.150$75,000
December 15, 20217:06 PM CSTEF1Floyd1.865$1.1 million
December 15, 20216:59 PM CSTEF1Floyd6.780$490,000
December 15, 20216:53 PM CSTEF1Butler4.2200$10,000
August 27, 20215:57 PM CDTEF1Floyd6.4300$280,000
August 27, 20215:51 PM CDTEF0Floyd2.290$10,000
August 27, 20215:50 PM CDTEF0Floyd1.3140
July 14, 20215:34 PM CDTEF1Floyd12.060$60,000
May 27, 201912:23 PM CDTEF1Floyd9.8105$625,000
September 21, 20166:32 PM CDTEF0Floyd1.650$3,000
May 31, 20136:09 PM CDTEF0Floyd0.210
June 16, 20043:49 PM CDTF0Floyd0.220
July 20, 19995:30 PM CDTF1Floyd2.170
August 23, 19978:50 PM CDTF1Floyd5.0150$400,000
July 6, 19942:30 PM CDTF1Cerro Gordo11.530$50,000 to $500,000
July 10, 19931:55 PM CDTF2Floyd12.0110$5,000 to $50,000
June 16, 199011:54 PM CDTF1Floyd5.030$50,000 to $500,000
March 24, 19883:15 PM CSTF1Floyd1.020$50,000 to $500,000
September 28, 19869:45 PM CDTF2Floyd0.2232$50,000 to $500,000
June 22, 19847:02 PM CDTF0Floyd0.110
June 16, 19848:05 PM CDTF0Floyd0.110
August 24, 19759:45 PM CDTF0Floyd0.233$5,000 to $50,000
May 15, 19684:10 PM GMT-5F5Charles City tornado62.160013462$5 million to $50 million
May 5, 19659:00 PM GMT-5F4Floyd41.620011$5,000 to $50,000
August 27, 196411:55 PM GMT-5F2Floyd1.077$5,000 to $50,000
July 8, 19594:00 PM GMT-5F1Floyd1.0200$5,000 to $50,000

Nearby

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