Tornadoes · United States · Iowa

Tornadoes in Wayne County, Iowa

33 tornadoes have crossed Wayne County since 1950, 55th of the 99 counties in Iowa with a tornado on record, an average of one every 2.3 years. They have killed 3 people and injured 73. 4 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
33
Deaths
3
Injuries
73
F4 and above
4
Worst on record
F4, June 7, 1984

The deadliest in Wayne County

  1. F4, Harrison, Decatur, Wayne, Lucas and Monroe counties, Missouri and IowaJune 7, 19843 killed, 64 injured

The strongest

  1. F4, Harrison, Decatur, Wayne, Lucas and Monroe counties, Missouri and IowaJune 7, 1984F4, 134.0 mi (216 km)
  2. F4, Decatur and Wayne counties, IowaJune 2, 1980F4, 31.2 mi (50 km)
  3. F4, Wayne County, IowaMay 20, 1959F4, 17.2 mi (28 km)
  4. F4, Wayne County, IowaMay 10, 1953F4, 6.4 mi (10 km)
  5. F2, Decatur, Wayne, Appanoose and Davis counties, IowaApril 23, 1961F2, 68.6 mi (110 km)
  6. F2, Wayne, Appanoose, Davis and Wapello counties, IowaMay 8, 1988F2, 47.0 mi (76 km)
  7. F2, Harrison, Mercer and Wayne counties, Missouri and IowaApril 29, 1970F2, 29.3 mi (47 km)
  8. EF2, Decatur, Wayne and Lucas counties, IowaMarch 5, 2022EF2, 19.4 mi (31 km)
  9. F2, Wayne County, IowaApril 26, 1991F2, 15.0 mi (24 km)
  10. EF2, Wayne and Appanoose counties, IowaMarch 6, 2017EF2, 14.9 mi (24 km)

Every year with a tornado

The 22 years of the 76 in the record with a tornado in Wayne County. Each year links to every tornado in Iowa that year.

YearTornadoesDeathsInjuriesStrongest
20241EF1
20223EF2
20171EF2
20151EF0
20082EF0
20072EF1
20001F0
199122F2
19901F0
19891F1
19883F2
19851F2
19842364F4
19821F1
19812F1
19802F4
19752F1
19701F2
196112F2
19601F2
195915F4
19531F4

Every tornado that crossed Wayne County

33 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.

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
April 30, 20247:12 PM CDTEF1Wayne3.075$250,000
March 5, 20225:38 PM CSTEF2Wayne9.9300$300,000
March 5, 20225:20 PM CSTUnratedDecatur2.160
March 5, 20225:07 PM CSTEF2Decatur19.4300$600,000
March 6, 20178:16 PM CSTEF2Wayne14.9250$2.0 million
November 11, 20152:57 PM CSTEF0Wayne0.615
April 10, 20084:49 PM CDTEF0Wayne0.420
April 10, 20084:33 PM CDTEF0Wayne0.620
October 2, 20075:35 PM CDTEF1Wayne0.920$100,000
March 21, 200712:39 AM CDTEF0Wayne1.435$150,000
June 23, 20002:18 PM CDTF0Wayne0.220$1,000
April 26, 199111:10 PM CDTF2Wayne9.060$50,000 to $500,000
April 26, 199111:10 PM CDTF2Wayne15.0772$500,000 to $5 million
July 19, 19905:29 PM CDTF0Wayne0.113$50 to $500
May 24, 19898:32 PM CDTF1Wayne2.020$5,000 to $50,000
November 15, 19884:09 PM CSTF0Wayne0.210$50 to $500
May 8, 19881:25 PM CDTF2Wayne47.043$50,000 to $500,000
May 8, 19881:10 PM CDTF1Wayne2.030$50,000 to $500,000
September 22, 19859:20 PM CDTF2Wayne0.550$500,000 to $5 million
June 7, 19849:33 PM CDTF1Wayne0.550$5,000 to $50,000
June 7, 19846:45 PM CDTF4Harrison to IA134.0250364$5 million to $50 million
June 15, 19822:00 AM CDTF1Wayne0.210$5,000 to $50,000
June 7, 19819:30 PM CDTF1Wayne0.110$500 to $5,000
April 3, 19818:10 PM CSTF0Wayne0.110
June 2, 19804:25 PM CDTF4Decatur31.2140$500,000 to $5 million
June 2, 19807:30 AM CDTF2Wayne4.780$50,000 to $500,000
June 23, 19756:05 PM CDTF1Wayne0.110$5,000 to $50,000
March 23, 19754:10 PM CDTF0Wayne0.110$500 to $5,000
April 29, 19703:05 PM CDTF2Harrison to IA29.3800$500,000 to $5 million
April 23, 19618:25 AM GMT-6F2Decatur68.66002$500,000 to $5 million
April 16, 19604:30 PM GMT-6F2Wayne9.5200$5,000 to $50,000
May 20, 19598:00 PM GMT-5F4Wayne17.24405$50,000 to $500,000
May 10, 19534:15 PM GMT-5F4Wayne6.410$5,000 to $50,000

Nearby

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