Tornadoes · United States · Iowa

Tornadoes in Greene County, Iowa

35 tornadoes have crossed Greene County since 1950, 49th of the 99 counties in Iowa with a tornado on record, an average of one every 2.2 years. They have killed 0 people and injured 3. 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
35
Deaths
0
Injuries
3
F4 and above
1
Worst on record
F4, May 27, 1995

The strongest

  1. F4, Guthrie, Carroll and Greene counties, IowaMay 27, 1995F4, 30.0 mi (48 km)
  2. EF2, Guthrie and Greene counties, IowaDecember 15, 2021EF2, 30.0 mi (48 km)
  3. EF2, Guthrie and Greene counties, IowaDecember 15, 2021EF2, 23.4 mi (38 km)
  4. EF2, Guthrie and Greene counties, IowaDecember 15, 2021EF2, 19.7 mi (32 km)
  5. EF2, Greene and Webster counties, IowaDecember 15, 2021EF2, 18.8 mi (30 km)
  6. EF2, Greene, Boone and Webster counties, IowaDecember 15, 2021EF2, 17.7 mi (28 km)
  7. F2, Greene County, IowaMay 4, 1959F2, 14.2 mi (23 km)
  8. F2, Carroll and Greene counties, IowaMay 5, 1960F2, 13.8 mi (22 km)
  9. EF2, Greene County, IowaDecember 15, 2021EF2, 5.8 mi (9 km)
  10. EF2, Greene County, IowaDecember 15, 2021EF2, 5.5 mi (9 km)

Every year with a tornado

The 18 years of the 76 in the record with a tornado in Greene County. Each year links to every tornado in Iowa that year.

YearTornadoesDeathsInjuriesStrongest
20231Unrated
20218EF2
20181EF0
20143EF0
20072EF0
20051F1
20042F1
20013F0
19982F0
19961F0
199511F4
19933F0
19841F0
197111F2
19692F1
19601F2
19591F2
195411F2

Every tornado that crossed Greene County

35 tornadoes, newest first.

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
May 13, 20235:18 PM CDTUnratedGreene0.440
December 15, 20215:42 PM CSTEF2Greene18.8150$225,000
December 15, 20215:39 PM CSTEF2Greene17.7125$30,000
December 15, 20215:34 PM CSTEF2Greene2.770$20,000
December 15, 20215:32 PM CSTEF2Greene5.8100$500,000
December 15, 20215:29 PM CSTEF2Greene5.5100$1.2 million
December 15, 20215:27 PM CSTEF2Guthrie23.4150$801,000
December 15, 20215:21 PM CSTEF2Guthrie30.0300$470,000
December 15, 20215:14 PM CSTEF2Guthrie19.7100$450,000
June 20, 20182:20 PM CDTEF0Greene0.640
August 31, 20148:15 PM CDTEF0Greene9.8360$2,000
August 31, 20148:11 PM CDTEF0Greene4.545$1,000
August 31, 20147:57 PM CDTEF0Carroll5.6100$2,000
August 28, 20077:29 PM CDTEF0Greene4.240$20,000
August 28, 20077:00 PM CDTEF0Carroll16.250$20,000
November 12, 20053:50 PM CSTF1Greene1.045$10,000
September 5, 20046:15 PM CDTF0Greene0.525
September 5, 20046:04 PM CDTF1Greene2.040$50,000
May 10, 20014:37 PM CDTF0Greene0.225$1,000
April 11, 20013:05 PM CDTF0Greene1.035$10,000
April 11, 20012:45 PM CDTF0Greene0.525
April 6, 19987:00 PM CDTF0Greene0.230
April 6, 19986:15 PM CDTF0Greene0.230
July 29, 19964:37 PM CDTF0Greene0.325
May 27, 19957:56 PM CDTF4Guthrie30.02501$500,000 to $5 million
July 8, 19935:10 PM CDTF0Greene0.120$500 to $5,000
June 29, 19939:00 PM CDTF0Greene0.223$500 to $5,000
June 29, 19938:44 PM CDTF0Greene0.230$500 to $5,000
April 26, 19847:13 PM CSTF0Greene0.5100$50 to $500
June 6, 197112:45 AM CDTF2Greene1.32001$50,000 to $500,000
September 26, 19698:30 PM GMT-5F1Greene1.0200$5,000 to $50,000
July 16, 19697:15 PM GMT-5F1Greene1.9200$50,000 to $500,000
May 5, 19608:00 PM GMT-5F2Carroll13.8150$50,000 to $500,000
May 4, 195911:30 PM GMT-5F2Greene14.2150$5,000 to $50,000
April 5, 19545:10 PM GMT-6F2Greene5.18801$50,000 to $500,000

Nearby

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