Tornadoes · United States · Iowa

Tornadoes in Jones County, Iowa

46 tornadoes have crossed Jones County since 1950, 25th of the 99 counties in Iowa with a tornado on record, an average of one every 1.7 years. They have killed 0 people and injured 12. 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
46
Deaths
0
Injuries
12
F4 and above
1
Worst on record
F4, March 13, 1990

The strongest

  1. F4, Linn, Delaware, Jones and Dubuque counties, IowaMarch 13, 1990F4, 19.0 mi (31 km)
  2. F3, Linn and Jones counties, IowaMay 20, 1953F3, 38.6 mi (62 km)
  3. F3, Jones County, IowaJuly 13, 1992F3, 5.0 mi (8 km)
  4. F2, Linn, Delaware, Jones and Dubuque counties, IowaSeptember 28, 1972F2, 64.5 mi (104 km)
  5. F2, Jones, Delaware and Dubuque counties, IowaApril 30, 1954F2, 16.6 mi (27 km)
  6. F2, Dubuque and Jones counties, IowaJuly 29, 1958F2, 14.5 mi (23 km)
  7. EF2, Linn and Jones counties, IowaJune 28, 2017EF2, 11.7 mi (19 km)
  8. F2, Jones County, IowaJuly 13, 1992F2, 5.7 mi (9 km)
  9. EF2, Jones and Delaware counties, IowaJune 28, 2017EF2, 2.5 mi (4 km)

Every year with a tornado

The 32 years of the 76 in the record with a tornado in Jones County. Each year links to every tornado in Iowa that year.

YearTornadoesDeathsInjuriesStrongest
20252EF1
20243EF0
20231EF1
20221Unrated
20213EF1
20201EF1
20191Unrated
20183EF0
201741EF2
20141EF0
20091EF0
20081EF0
200611F1
20042F1
20031F0
20021F0
20001F0
19991F0
19981F0
19951F0
19922F3
19911F0
19902F4
19882F1
19851F0
19841F0
197213F2
19651F1
19601F0
19581F2
19541F2
195317F3

Every tornado that crossed Jones County

46 tornadoes, newest first.

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
July 11, 20254:20 PM CDTEF1Jones10.1150
July 11, 20254:04 PM CDTEF1Linn12.4150
July 15, 20246:18 PM CDTEF0Jones1.550
June 25, 20245:50 PM CDTUnratedJones0.810
June 25, 20245:30 PM CDTUnratedJones0.110
March 31, 20235:41 PM CDTEF1Jones1.450
August 20, 202212:20 PM CDTUnratedJones0.110
July 14, 202110:30 PM CDTEF1Jones3.130
July 14, 202110:02 PM CDTEF1Jones8.030
July 14, 20219:44 PM CDTEF1Jones1.840
May 23, 202012:57 PM CDTEF1Cedar6.930
June 9, 20195:14 PM CDTUnratedJones1.110
October 3, 20189:59 PM CDTEF0Jones0.750
August 16, 20186:08 PM CDTEF0Jones0.010
May 3, 201811:15 PM CDTEF0Jones0.010
June 28, 20177:56 PM CDTEF1Jones2.015
June 28, 20177:14 PM CDTEF2Jones2.530
June 28, 20176:38 PM CDTEF2Linn11.72001
April 15, 20178:50 PM CDTEF1Jones3.225$10,000
June 29, 201410:36 PM CDTEF0Jones0.125
August 19, 20095:20 PM CDTEF0Jones0.150$5,000
July 10, 20086:50 PM CDTEF0Jones1.010
April 13, 20068:15 PM CDTF1Jones3.78801$100,000
May 30, 20043:56 PM CDTF0Jones0.330
May 21, 20045:06 PM CDTF1Jones6.0100$40,000
July 20, 200310:47 PM CDTF0Jones3.535$10,000
August 23, 20028:06 PM CDTF0Jones0.110
May 31, 200012:00 PM CDTF0Jones0.110$10,000
June 10, 19992:16 PM CDTF0Jones0.110
May 15, 19986:30 PM CDTF0Jones0.230$1,000
July 27, 19955:21 PM CDTF0Jones0.123$500 to $5,000
July 13, 19923:45 PM CDTF2Jones5.773$500,000 to $5 million
July 13, 19923:42 PM CDTF3Jones5.073$500,000 to $5 million
September 12, 19915:20 PM CDTF0Jones0.520$500 to $5,000
March 13, 19905:08 PM CSTF1Jones6.030$500,000 to $5 million
March 13, 19904:53 PM CSTF4Linn19.0200$5 million to $50 million
May 8, 19883:15 PM CDTF1Jones10.040$50,000 to $500,000
May 8, 19883:15 PM CDTF0Jones1.020$5,000 to $50,000
August 14, 198512:40 PM CDTF0Jones0.110
June 22, 19849:15 PM CDTF0Jones0.110
September 28, 19722:50 PM CDTF2Linn64.52,2003$500,000 to $5 million
June 27, 196510:30 PM GMT-5F1Jones0.110$50 to $500
September 18, 19601:20 PM GMT-5F0Jones1.077$500 to $5,000
July 29, 19585:00 AM GMT-5F2Dubuque14.5200$5,000 to $50,000
April 30, 19548:05 PM GMT-5F2Jones16.650
May 20, 195311:10 PM GMT-5F3Linn38.64007

Nearby

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