Tornadoes · United States · Iowa

Tornadoes in Scott County, Iowa

68 tornadoes have crossed Scott County since 1950, 2nd of the 99 counties in Iowa with a tornado on record, an average of one every 1.1 years. They have killed 0 people and injured 8. None was rated F4 or 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
68
Deaths
0
Injuries
8
F4 and above
0
Worst on record
F3, May 9, 1995

The strongest

  1. F3, Scott and Clinton counties, IowaMay 8, 1988F3, 32.0 mi (51 km)
  2. F3, Rock Island, Scott and Whiteside counties, Iowa and IllinoisMarch 13, 1990F3, 15.5 mi (25 km)
  3. F3, Scott and Muscatine counties, IowaMay 9, 1995F3, 10.0 mi (16 km)
  4. F3, Scott County, IowaMay 7, 1962F3, 10.0 mi (16 km)
  5. F3, Scott County, IowaMay 13, 1974F3, 3.6 mi (6 km)
  6. F3, Scott County, IowaApril 19, 1966F3, 2.0 mi (3 km)
  7. EF2, Scott and Clinton counties, IowaMarch 6, 2017EF2, 34.7 mi (56 km)
  8. EF2, Muscatine and Scott counties, IowaMarch 6, 2017EF2, 25.3 mi (41 km)
  9. EF2, Cedar, Scott and Clinton counties, IowaMarch 31, 2023EF2, 19.6 mi (31 km)
  10. F2, Muscatine, Cedar and Scott counties, IowaMay 21, 1957F2, 8.9 mi (14 km)

Every year with a tornado

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

YearTornadoesDeathsInjuriesStrongest
20252EF2
20245EF1
202322EF2
20222EF1
20192Unrated
20181EF0
20173EF2
20164EF1
20152EF1
20131EF1
20061F1
20021F0
200133F2
19971F0
19957F3
19941F0
199322F1
19911F1
199041F3
19883F3
19871F0
19831F0
19812F1
19802F1
19791F1
19744F3
19673F2
19662F3
19621F3
19601F0
19571F2
19541F1

Every tornado that crossed Scott County

68 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.

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
July 11, 20255:33 PM CDTEF0Scott3.975
July 11, 20255:03 PM CDTEF2Scott7.6500
July 15, 20247:19 PM CDTEF1Scott to IL8.0100
May 24, 20248:09 AM CDTUnratedScott0.810
May 24, 20247:52 AM CDTEF1Scott7.250
May 24, 20247:45 AM CDTEF1Scott15.350
May 24, 20247:36 AM CDTUnratedScott0.110
June 24, 202310:31 PM CDTEF0Scott9.620
March 31, 20235:18 PM CDTEF2Cedar19.62002
March 5, 20228:37 PM CSTEF1Scott4.1300
March 5, 20228:37 PM CSTEF0Scott0.125
July 9, 20197:41 PM CDTUnratedScott0.010
July 9, 20197:08 PM CDTUnratedScott0.110
August 28, 20187:09 PM CDTEF0Scott4.125
May 17, 20177:44 PM CDTEF1Scott2.125$2,000
March 6, 201710:19 PM CSTEF2Scott34.7200
March 6, 201710:13 PM CSTEF2Muscatine25.31,000$52,000
October 6, 201610:36 PM CDTEF1Rock Island to IL20.0800
July 17, 20166:36 AM CDTEF1Scott2.1100
July 17, 20166:27 AM CDTEF0Scott1.910
March 15, 20167:33 PM CDTEF0Scott0.050
November 11, 20156:36 PM CSTEF1Scott2.4100
April 9, 20155:04 PM CDTEF1Scott22.4100$20,000
May 30, 20134:44 PM CDTEF1Rock Island to IA4.0150$140,000
April 13, 20069:42 PM CDTF1Scott1.5100$60,000
August 21, 20027:00 PM CDTF0Scott0.110
June 14, 20016:11 PM CDTF1Scott3.0500
June 14, 20016:01 PM CDTF2Scott6.52003
May 10, 20019:18 PM CDTF0Scott0.570$70,000
May 18, 19978:00 PM CDTF0Scott0.110
May 9, 19955:45 PM CDTF1Scott0.540$5,000 to $50,000
May 9, 19955:40 PM CDTF0Scott0.230$5,000 to $50,000
May 9, 19955:40 PM CDTF0Scott0.230$5,000 to $50,000
May 9, 19955:40 PM CDTF0Scott0.230$500 to $5,000
May 9, 19955:17 PM CDTF1Scott3.050$500 to $5,000
May 9, 19954:55 PM CDTF3Scott10.073$500,000 to $5 million
May 9, 19954:50 PM CDTF0Scott0.223$500 to $5,000
June 26, 19942:45 PM CDTF0Scott0.123$50 to $500
June 29, 199311:23 PM CDTF0Scott0.120$50 to $500
June 29, 199311:11 PM CDTF1Scott0.4232$5,000 to $50,000
May 17, 19914:10 PM CDTF1Muscatine14.530$50,000 to $500,000
August 19, 19908:35 PM CDTF1Scott1.073$50,000 to $500,000
March 13, 19904:55 PM CSTF1Scott13.073$50,000 to $500,000
March 13, 19904:45 PM CSTF3Rock Island to IL15.52501$50,000 to $500,000
March 13, 19904:42 PM CSTF0Scott0.273$500 to $5,000
May 8, 19883:43 PM CDTF3Scott32.0150$5 million to $50 million
May 8, 19883:40 PM CDTF0Scott1.020$5,000 to $50,000
May 8, 19883:35 PM CDTF0Scott1.020$5,000 to $50,000
May 30, 19877:00 PM CDTF0Scott0.513$500 to $5,000
July 1, 198312:00 AM CDTF0Scott0.220$50,000 to $500,000
April 4, 198112:30 AM CSTF1Scott20.550$500,000 to $5 million
April 3, 198111:15 PM CSTF0Washington103.550$50,000 to $500,000
September 3, 19809:40 PM CDTF0Scott0.230$5,000 to $50,000
June 28, 19801:05 AM CDTF1Scott0.120$500 to $5,000
August 5, 19798:55 PM CDTF1Scott1.0150$50,000 to $500,000
May 16, 19749:15 PM CDTF0Scott0.110
May 16, 19748:48 PM CDTF0Scott0.110
May 13, 197411:00 PM CDTF3Scott3.6100$500,000 to $5 million
May 13, 197410:40 PM CDTF1Scott0.177$5,000 to $50,000
May 7, 19675:34 PM GMT-5F2Muscatine8.0200$5,000 to $50,000
January 24, 19675:11 PM GMT-6F2Scott2.0250$50,000 to $500,000
January 24, 19674:50 PM GMT-6F2Scott2.0143$5,000 to $50,000
May 23, 19665:30 PM GMT-5F2Scott2.0250$5,000 to $50,000
April 19, 19669:30 PM GMT-6F3Scott2.0100$50,000 to $500,000
May 7, 19628:05 PM GMT-5F3Scott10.0300$50,000 to $500,000
June 28, 19607:30 PM GMT-5F0Scott0.237$5,000 to $50,000
May 21, 19576:00 PM GMT-5F2Muscatine8.9100$50,000 to $500,000
April 26, 19548:30 PM GMT-5F1Scott0.110$500 to $5,000

Nearby

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