Tornadoes · United States · Iowa

Tornadoes in Howard County, Iowa

43 tornadoes have crossed Howard County since 1950, 1 of them surveyed so far this year and still preliminary, 33rd of the 99 counties in Iowa with a tornado on record, an average of one every 1.8 years. They have killed 2 people and injured 47. 3 were 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
43
Deaths
2
Injuries
47
F4 and above
3
Worst on record
F4, May 10, 1953

The deadliest in Howard County

  1. F4, Howard, Fillmore, Olmsted, Winona, Buffalo, Trempealeau, Eau Claire and Chippewa counties, Iowa and Minnesota and WisconsinMay 10, 19532 killed, 24 injured

The strongest

  1. F4, Howard, Fillmore, Olmsted, Winona, Buffalo, Trempealeau, Eau Claire and Chippewa counties, Iowa and Minnesota and WisconsinMay 10, 1953F4, 162.0 mi (261 km)
  2. F4, Floyd, Howard and Winneshiek counties, IowaMay 5, 1965F4, 41.6 mi (67 km)
  3. F4, Howard, Chickasaw and Fayette counties, IowaJuly 12, 1971F4, 10.9 mi (18 km)
  4. F3, Howard and Winneshiek counties, IowaJuly 19, 1994F3, 23.0 mi (37 km)
  5. F3, Howard and Mower counties, Iowa and MinnesotaJune 11, 2004F3, 12.0 mi (19 km)
  6. EF2, Howard and Fillmore counties, Iowa and MinnesotaMay 22, 2011EF2, 28.7 mi (46 km)
  7. F2, Howard County, IowaJuly 19, 1994F2, 8.5 mi (14 km)
  8. F2, Howard County, IowaMay 15, 1968F2, 4.7 mi (8 km)
  9. F2, Howard County, IowaMarch 30, 1967F2, 4.1 mi (7 km)
  10. F2, Howard County, IowaSeptember 9, 1965F2, 1.0 mi (2 km)

Every year with a tornado

The 25 years of the 76 in the record with a tornado in Howard County. Each year links to every tornado in Iowa that year.

YearTornadoesDeathsInjuriesStrongest
202611EF0
20222EF1
20215EF0
20193EF1
20171EF0
20161EF0
20142EF0
201123EF2
20091EF0
20045F3
19981F0
19971F0
19961F0
19943F3
19901F1
19821F1
19802F1
19751F1
197118F4
19681F2
19671F2
1965311F4
19611F2
19591F1
19531224F4

Every tornado that crossed Howard County

43 tornadoes, newest first. 1 of them touched down in a neighboring state and ran in, so the record files it under that state rather than Iowa. 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 17, 20262:47 PM CDTEF0Howard4.2601
April 12, 202211:10 PM CDTEF0Howard4.5125$340,000
April 12, 202210:57 PM CDTEF1Mitchell9.1325$550,000
December 15, 20217:31 PM CSTEF0Howard4.690$250,000
December 15, 20217:29 PM CSTEF0Howard4.445$600,000
December 15, 20217:23 PM CSTEF0Howard5.945$90,000
December 15, 20217:17 PM CSTEF0Chickasaw5.050$420,000
May 15, 20215:49 PM CDTEF0Howard0.315
May 27, 20191:49 PM CDTEF0Howard to MN6.230$202,000
May 27, 20191:25 PM CDTEF1Howard12.695$1.3 million
May 27, 20191:10 PM CDTEF0Chickasaw4.125$35,000
July 19, 20175:15 PM CDTEF0Howard0.720$12,000
September 6, 20165:50 PM CDTEF0Howard0.025$200
August 31, 201410:12 PM CDTEF0Howard2.660
August 31, 201410:08 PM CDTEF0Howard3.980
May 22, 20112:33 PM CDTEF1Price to IA, MN3.3600$4,000
May 22, 20112:33 PM CDTEF2Howard to MN28.72503$775,000
August 19, 20093:50 PM CDTEF0Howard0.120
July 5, 20045:40 PM CDTF0Howard0.220$10,000
June 16, 20042:48 PM CDTF0Howard0.220
June 16, 20041:55 PM CDTF0Howard0.120
June 11, 20045:56 PM CDTF3Howard to MN12.0150$190,000
June 11, 20045:40 PM CDTF0Howard4.040$100,000
June 27, 19988:08 PM CDTF0Howard0.330
July 20, 19979:20 PM CDTF0Howard3.070$40,000
August 19, 19967:00 PM CDTF0Howard0.550
July 19, 19949:06 PM CDTF1Howard0.733$50,000 to $500,000
July 19, 19949:06 PM CDTF3Howard23.0150$50,000 to $500,000
July 19, 19948:29 PM CDTF2Howard8.540$5,000 to $50,000
August 9, 19908:30 PM CDTF1Howard1.513$500 to $5,000
May 17, 19825:00 PM CDTF1Howard0.210$500 to $5,000
August 2, 19805:45 AM CDTF1Howard0.330$5,000 to $50,000
May 29, 19809:00 PM CDTF0Howard0.130
April 17, 19758:50 PM CDTF1Howard0.110$500 to $5,000
July 12, 19716:15 PM CDTF4Howard10.91,3208$500,000 to $5 million
May 15, 19686:15 PM GMT-5F2Howard4.7250$5,000 to $50,000
March 30, 196710:40 PM GMT-6F2Howard4.1100$5,000 to $50,000
September 9, 19652:45 PM GMT-5F2Howard1.050$5,000 to $50,000
August 25, 19656:45 PM GMT-5F1Howard4.9100$5,000 to $50,000
May 5, 19659:00 PM GMT-5F4Floyd41.620011$5,000 to $50,000
September 2, 196111:30 PM GMT-5F2Howard1.040$5,000 to $50,000
June 25, 195911:00 PM GMT-5F1Howard1.0200$500 to $5,000
May 10, 19536:30 PM GMT-5F4Howard to MN, WI162.0100224

Nearby

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