Tornadoes · United States · Iowa

Tornadoes in Franklin County, Iowa

30 tornadoes have crossed Franklin County since 1950, 1 of them surveyed so far this year and still preliminary, 67th of the 99 counties in Iowa with a tornado on record, an average of one every 2.5 years. They have killed 13 people and injured 462. 1 was 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
30
Deaths
13
Injuries
462
F4 and above
1
Worst on record
F5, May 15, 1968

The deadliest in Franklin 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. F3, Franklin and Hardin counties, IowaJune 28, 1990F3, 9.0 mi (14 km)
  3. EF2, Wright, Franklin and Cerro Gordo counties, IowaDecember 15, 2021EF2, 16.7 mi (27 km)
  4. EF2, Franklin County, IowaDecember 15, 2021EF2, 7.5 mi (12 km)
  5. F2, Franklin County, IowaMay 10, 1959F2, 6.5 mi (10 km)
  6. EF2, Franklin County, IowaJune 12, 2013EF2, 5.2 mi (8 km)

Every year with a tornado

The 19 years of the 76 in the record with a tornado in Franklin County. Each year links to every tornado in Iowa that year.

YearTornadoesDeathsInjuriesStrongest
20261EF1
20232EF1
20215EF2
20141EF1
20134EF2
20101EF0
20063F0
20041F0
19991F1
19921F1
19911F1
19901F3
19891F0
19741F0
19691F1
1968113462F5
19641F0
19602F1
19591F2

Every tornado that crossed Franklin County

30 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
July 20, 20263:35 PM CDTEF1Franklin0.425
July 28, 20235:55 PM CDTEF1Franklin1.8125$70,000
July 28, 20235:46 PM CDTEF1Franklin2.8120$60,000
December 15, 20216:40 PM CSTEF2Franklin7.590$250,000
December 15, 20216:38 PM CSTEF1Franklin6.080$100,000
December 15, 20216:27 PM CSTEF1Hardin22.2140$35,000
December 15, 20216:26 PM CSTEF1Hardin13.0125$5,000
December 15, 20216:25 PM CSTEF2Wright16.7100$105,000
June 16, 20146:52 PM CDTEF1Wright2.6175$27,000
June 12, 20134:56 PM CDTEF0Franklin1.150$10,000
June 12, 20134:53 PM CDTEF0Franklin1.3125
June 12, 20134:46 PM CDTEF1Franklin3.475$50,000
June 12, 20134:32 PM CDTEF2Franklin5.2300$300,000
July 16, 20109:22 PM CDTEF0Franklin0.630
September 2, 20063:37 PM CDTF0Franklin0.230
September 2, 20062:50 PM CDTF0Franklin0.230
September 2, 20062:46 PM CDTF0Franklin0.230
August 16, 20047:10 PM CDTF0Hardin0.640$1,000
June 6, 19994:30 PM CDTF1Franklin11.540$10,000
July 13, 19922:45 PM CDTF1Franklin0.530$50,000 to $500,000
June 14, 199112:15 AM CDTF1Franklin0.540$50,000 to $500,000
June 28, 19901:09 PM CDTF3Franklin9.090$500,000 to $5 million
May 25, 19897:21 AM CDTF0Franklin1.050$500 to $5,000
June 3, 19748:00 PM CDTF0Franklin0.110
June 26, 19693:40 PM GMT-5F1Franklin2.0200$5,000 to $50,000
May 15, 19684:10 PM GMT-5F5Charles City tornado62.160013462$5 million to $50 million
May 23, 196411:00 PM GMT-5F0Franklin0.110$5,000 to $50,000
August 28, 19604:30 PM GMT-5F0Franklin1.0100$5,000 to $50,000
August 28, 19604:00 PM GMT-5F1Franklin1.0150$5,000 to $50,000
May 10, 19595:45 PM GMT-5F2Franklin6.5300$5,000 to $50,000

Nearby

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