Tornadoes · United States · Iowa

Tornadoes in Ringgold County, Iowa

30 tornadoes have crossed Ringgold County since 1950, 1 of them surveyed so far this year and still preliminary, 66th of the 99 counties in Iowa with a tornado on record, an average of one every 2.5 years. They have killed 1 person 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
30
Deaths
1
Injuries
3
F4 and above
1
Worst on record
F4, May 24, 1989

The deadliest in Ringgold County

  1. F2, Ringgold County, IowaJune 7, 19841 killed, 3 injured

The strongest

  1. F4, Adams, Union, Ringgold and Decatur counties, IowaMay 24, 1989F4, 49.0 mi (79 km)
  2. F3, Worth, Gentry, Ringgold, Union, Clarke and Madison counties, Missouri and IowaApril 11, 2001F3, 76.5 mi (123 km)
  3. F3, Ringgold County, IowaApril 23, 1955F3, 5.4 mi (9 km)
  4. F2, Ringgold County, IowaMay 23, 1981F2, 15.9 mi (26 km)
  5. F2, Union and Ringgold counties, IowaApril 26, 1964F2, 14.8 mi (24 km)
  6. F2, Ringgold County, IowaJune 7, 1984F2, 14.0 mi (23 km)
  7. EF2, Ringgold County, IowaApril 26, 2024EF2, 10.2 mi (16 km)
  8. F2, Ringgold County, IowaJuly 25, 1990F2, 4.0 mi (6 km)
  9. EF2, Ringgold County, IowaJune 1, 2010EF2, 1.5 mi (2 km)
  10. F2, Ringgold County, IowaMay 5, 1971F2, 1.0 mi (2 km)

Every year with a tornado

The 23 years of the 76 in the record with a tornado in Ringgold County. Each year links to every tornado in Iowa that year.

YearTornadoesDeathsInjuriesStrongest
20261EF0
20244EF2
20182EF0
20153EF1
20131EF0
20101EF2
20091EF0
20051F1
20041F0
20011F3
19961F0
19951F1
19921F0
19901F2
19891F4
1984113F2
19811F2
19731F1
19721F1
19711F2
19662F1
19641F2
19551F3

Every tornado that crossed Ringgold County

30 tornadoes, newest first. 2 of them touched down in a neighboring state and ran in, so the record files them 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
May 18, 20266:54 PM CDTEF0Ringgold6.130
April 26, 20248:19 PM CDTEF2Ringgold10.2100$350,000
April 26, 20247:51 PM CDTEF1Ringgold9.1250$100,000
April 26, 20247:36 PM CDTEF1Ringgold11.7300$80,000
April 26, 20247:23 PM CDTEF1Worth to IA8.5300$200,000
October 9, 20184:35 PM CDTEF0Ringgold3.140
June 25, 20185:14 PM CDTEF0Ringgold0.740
November 11, 20152:35 PM CSTEF1Ringgold11.2200$5,000
November 11, 20152:09 PM CSTEF1Ringgold12.2280$125,000
November 11, 20152:00 PM CSTEF1Taylor21.8450$405,000
May 26, 20137:23 PM CDTEF0Ringgold0.130
June 1, 20105:08 PM CDTEF2Ringgold1.5250$4.0 million
April 26, 20096:08 PM CDTEF0Ringgold1.330$100,000
June 4, 20057:15 PM CDTF1Ringgold1.050
May 24, 20047:20 PM CDTF0Ringgold0.230
April 11, 200111:30 AM CDTF3Worth to IA76.5500$1.9 million
May 27, 19962:55 PM CDTF0Ringgold0.125
May 27, 199510:19 PM CDTF1Ringgold5.540$5,000 to $50,000
July 24, 19926:20 PM CDTF0Ringgold0.113$50 to $500
July 25, 19907:50 PM CDTF2Ringgold4.073$50,000 to $500,000
May 24, 19896:11 PM CDTF4Adams49.01,760$5 million to $50 million
June 7, 19848:45 PM CDTF2Ringgold14.015013$500,000 to $5 million
May 23, 19816:00 PM CDTF2Ringgold15.9130$50,000 to $500,000
April 19, 19736:15 PM CSTF1Ringgold2.7300$5,000 to $50,000
July 14, 19727:27 PM CDTF1Ringgold1.0100$5,000 to $50,000
May 5, 19716:15 PM CDTF2Ringgold1.0200$5,000 to $50,000
October 14, 19664:15 PM GMT-5F1Ringgold0.110$500 to $5,000
May 23, 19667:30 AM GMT-5F1Ringgold0.350under $50
April 26, 19648:10 PM GMT-5F2Union14.8300$5,000 to $50,000
April 23, 19554:00 PM GMT-6F3Ringgold5.4440$5,000 to $50,000

Nearby

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