Tornadoes · United States · Iowa

Tornadoes in Sac County, Iowa

28 tornadoes have crossed Sac County since 1950, 75th of the 99 counties in Iowa with a tornado on record, an average of one every 2.7 years. They have killed 0 people and injured 0. 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
28
Deaths
0
Injuries
0
F4 and above
1
Worst on record
F4, May 27, 1995

The strongest

  1. F4, Carroll, Sac, Calhoun and Pocahontas counties, IowaMay 27, 1995F4, 36.0 mi (58 km)
  2. EF3, Sac, Buena Vista and Pocahontas counties, IowaApril 9, 2011EF3, 29.4 mi (47 km)
  3. EF3, Sac County, IowaApril 9, 2011EF3, 10.1 mi (16 km)
  4. F3, Crawford and Sac counties, IowaApril 26, 1991F3, 7.7 mi (12 km)
  5. F2, Ida, Sac, Pocahontas and Kossuth counties, IowaJune 7, 1953F2, 49.2 mi (79 km)
  6. F2, Sac, Calhoun and Pocahontas counties, IowaApril 26, 1984F2, 22.0 mi (35 km)
  7. EF2, Sac and Carroll counties, IowaDecember 15, 2021EF2, 17.6 mi (28 km)
  8. EF2, Sac County, IowaApril 9, 2011EF2, 8.3 mi (13 km)
  9. EF2, Sac and Buena Vista counties, IowaApril 9, 2011EF2, 1.6 mi (3 km)
  10. F2, Sac County, IowaMay 15, 1965F2, 0.5 mi (1 km)

Every year with a tornado

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

YearTornadoesDeathsInjuriesStrongest
20233EF0
20213EF2
20192Unrated
20141EF0
20115EF3
20101EF0
20071EF0
19991F0
19981F0
19951F4
19941F1
19911F3
19901F0
19891F1
19851F1
19841F2
19781F1
19651F2
19531F2

Every tornado that crossed Sac County

28 tornadoes, newest first.

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
August 5, 20239:30 PM CDTUnratedSac0.350
August 5, 20239:29 PM CDTEF0Sac0.935$50,000
May 13, 20231:36 PM CDTUnratedSac0.330
December 15, 20215:13 PM CSTEF2Sac17.6100$150,000
July 14, 20215:35 PM CDTUnratedSac0.830
July 14, 20215:11 PM CDTUnratedSac0.625
May 29, 20194:11 PM CDTUnratedSac0.720
May 29, 20194:00 PM CDTUnratedSac1.230
August 31, 20146:44 PM CDTEF0Sac2.160$90,000
April 9, 20119:24 PM CDTEF2Sac1.6220$510,000
April 9, 20119:08 PM CDTEF3Sac29.42,640$13 million
April 9, 20118:38 PM CDTEF0Sac0.6100$1,000
April 9, 20118:29 PM CDTEF2Sac8.3660$1.0 million
April 9, 20118:23 PM CDTEF3Sac10.11,760$2.0 million
June 22, 20109:15 PM CDTEF0Sac0.830
September 30, 20076:26 PM CDTEF0Sac4.230
May 27, 19997:39 PM CDTF0Sac0.120
May 15, 19984:21 PM CDTF0Sac0.130
May 27, 19957:22 PM CDTF4Carroll36.0400$500,000 to $5 million
June 5, 19943:55 AM CDTF1Ida3.070$50,000 to $500,000
April 26, 19918:00 PM CDTF3Crawford7.7150$500,000 to $5 million
March 13, 19904:31 PM CSTF0Sac0.350$500 to $5,000
April 27, 19898:35 PM CDTF1Sac15.060$500 to $5,000
August 13, 19852:28 PM CDTF1Sac1.510
April 26, 19844:40 PM CSTF2Sac22.0200$500,000 to $5 million
July 5, 19788:40 PM CDTF1Sac1.0223$5,000 to $50,000
May 15, 19652:30 PM GMT-5F2Sac0.550$50 to $500
June 7, 19538:30 PM GMT-5F2Ida49.2833

Nearby

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