Tornadoes · United States · Iowa

Tornadoes in Madison County, Iowa

39 tornadoes have crossed Madison County since 1950, 1 of them surveyed so far this year and still preliminary, 43rd of the 99 counties in Iowa with a tornado on record, an average of one every 1.9 years. They have killed 6 people and injured 10. 2 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
39
Deaths
6
Injuries
10
F4 and above
2
Worst on record
EF4, March 5, 2022

The deadliest in Madison County

  1. EF4 Winterset tornado, IowaMarch 5, 20226 killed, 5 injured

The strongest

  1. EF4 Winterset tornado, IowaMarch 5, 2022EF4, 70.6 mi (114 km)
  2. F4, Union, Madison and Dallas counties, IowaApril 8, 1999F4, 56.0 mi (90 km)
  3. F3, Worth, Gentry, Ringgold, Union, Clarke and Madison counties, Missouri and IowaApril 11, 2001F3, 76.5 mi (123 km)
  4. F3, Union, Madison and Warren counties, IowaMarch 29, 1979F3, 57.0 mi (92 km)
  5. F2, Madison, Warren, Polk and Jasper counties, IowaJune 7, 1953F2, 116.0 mi (187 km)
  6. EF2, Union and Madison counties, IowaApril 26, 2024EF2, 13.9 mi (22 km)
  7. EF2, Madison County, IowaMarch 22, 2011EF2, 10.0 mi (16 km)

Every year with a tornado

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

YearTornadoesDeathsInjuriesStrongest
20261EF0
20247EF2
2022165EF4
20211Unrated
20191EF1
20171EF1
20157EF1
20142EF1
20112EF2
20101EF0
20042F0
20012F3
199911F4
19823F1
19812F1
197914F3
19762F1
19721F1
19531F2

Every tornado that crossed Madison County

39 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 23, 20267:20 PM CDTEF0Madison1.420
June 25, 20246:49 PM CDTUnratedMadison0.230
June 25, 20246:24 PM CDTEF0Madison1.450$2,000
May 21, 20243:50 PM CDTEF0Union4.075$20,000
April 26, 20248:21 PM CDTEF0Madison3.650$4,000
April 26, 20248:16 PM CDTUnratedMadison1.430
April 26, 20247:57 PM CDTUnratedMadison0.630
April 26, 20247:19 PM CDTEF2Union13.9150$110,000
March 5, 20224:26 PM CSTEF4Winterset tornado70.690065$220 million
May 20, 20219:04 PM CDTUnratedMadison0.530
August 20, 20195:21 AM CDTEF1Madison1.2150$5,000
June 28, 20174:45 PM CDTEF1Adair7.6100$20,000
November 11, 20152:56 PM CSTEF0Madison3.0160$5,000
November 11, 20152:51 PM CSTEF1Madison10.175$25,000
November 11, 20152:49 PM CSTEF0Madison5.770$3,000
May 17, 20152:40 AM CDTEF1Madison1.5100
May 17, 20152:40 AM CDTEF1Madison1.5110$50,000
May 17, 20152:27 AM CDTEF0Madison1.750
May 17, 20152:20 AM CDTEF0Madison7.1130$25,000
June 30, 20141:15 PM CDTEF1Madison6.4400$100,000
June 30, 20141:13 PM CDTEF1Madison1.375$10,000
March 22, 20117:11 PM CDTEF0Madison0.225
March 22, 20116:18 PM CDTEF2Madison10.01,410$1.0 million
June 18, 20104:55 PM CDTEF0Madison0.625
May 24, 20044:58 PM CDTF0Madison0.550
May 22, 20047:11 PM CDTF0Madison0.330
September 6, 20012:52 PM CDTF0Madison0.520
April 11, 200111:30 AM CDTF3Worth to IA76.5500$1.9 million
April 8, 19993:48 PM CDTF4Union56.01,2501$2.4 million
June 15, 19822:30 AM CDTF1Madison0.210$5,000 to $50,000
May 20, 198210:30 AM CDTF0Madison0.110under $50
April 2, 19822:10 PM CSTF1Madison0.550$5,000 to $50,000
May 23, 19816:28 PM CDTF1Madison0.110$500 to $5,000
May 23, 19815:36 PM CDTF0Madison0.110
March 29, 19797:05 PM CSTF3Union57.05004$500,000 to $5 million
June 12, 19768:15 PM CDTF1Madison14.1100under $50
June 12, 19766:45 PM CDTF1Madison35.1100$5,000 to $50,000
September 12, 19727:19 PM CDTF1Madison19.9200$5,000 to $50,000
June 7, 195310:15 PM GMT-5F2Madison116.0200

Nearby

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