Tornadoes · United States · Iowa

Tornadoes in Wright County, Iowa

40 tornadoes have crossed Wright County since 1950, 37th 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 172. 1 was rated F4 or EF4 and above, 1 at the top of the scale.

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
40
Deaths
6
Injuries
172
F4 and above
1
Worst on record
F5, October 14, 1966

The deadliest in Wright County

  1. F5, Wright County, IowaOctober 14, 19666 killed, 172 injured

The strongest

  1. F5, Wright County, IowaOctober 14, 1966F5, 9.7 mi (16 km)
  2. EF3, Wright County, IowaJune 12, 2013EF3, 6.2 mi (10 km)
  3. F2, Webster, Hamilton and Wright counties, IowaJune 7, 1953F2, 49.0 mi (79 km)
  4. EF2, Wright, Franklin and Cerro Gordo counties, IowaDecember 15, 2021EF2, 16.7 mi (27 km)
  5. F2, Hamilton and Wright counties, IowaMay 17, 1991F2, 9.0 mi (14 km)
  6. EF2, Wright County, IowaDecember 15, 2021EF2, 5.9 mi (10 km)
  7. F2, Wright County, IowaApril 26, 1964F2, 4.7 mi (8 km)
  8. F2, Wright County, IowaSeptember 26, 1973F2, 1.0 mi (2 km)

Every year with a tornado

The 26 years of the 76 in the record with a tornado in Wright County. Each year links to every tornado in Iowa that year.

YearTornadoesDeathsInjuriesStrongest
20241EF1
20214EF2
20201EF1
20183EF0
20142EF1
20133EF3
20101EF0
20071EF0
20051F1
20041F0
19993F0
19981F1
19941F0
19931F0
19912F2
19903F1
19841F1
19792F1
19781F0
19741F0
19731F2
19721F1
19681F1
196616172F5
19641F2
19531F2

Every tornado that crossed Wright County

40 tornadoes, newest first.

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
April 7, 20243:50 PM CDTEF1Hamilton0.770$20,000
December 15, 20216:28 PM CSTEF0Wright5.260$500
December 15, 20216:25 PM CSTEF2Wright16.7100$105,000
December 15, 20216:19 PM CSTEF2Wright5.970$150,000
August 20, 20219:05 PM CDTEF0Wright4.0190
May 26, 20203:38 PM CDTEF1Wright5.1250$70,000
July 19, 20182:42 PM CDTEF0Wright1.360
July 19, 20182:35 PM CDTEF0Wright4.480
July 19, 20182:30 PM CDTEF0Wright3.580
August 31, 20148:59 PM CDTEF0Hamilton4.6120$25,000
June 16, 20146:52 PM CDTEF1Wright2.6175$27,000
June 12, 20134:21 PM CDTEF0Wright1.150
June 12, 20134:19 PM CDTEF1Wright5.0125$20,000
June 12, 20134:08 PM CDTEF3Wright6.2200$500,000
June 22, 201010:25 PM CDTEF0Wright2.050
June 21, 20073:55 PM CDTEF0Wright0.130
March 30, 20051:15 PM CSTF1Wright0.550$30,000
May 21, 20047:30 PM CDTF0Wright0.225
June 8, 19996:09 PM CDTF0Wright0.20
June 6, 19994:19 PM CDTF0Wright0.120
June 6, 19994:10 PM CDTF0Wright0.120
May 15, 19983:58 PM CDTF1Wright11.060$50,000
June 18, 19946:10 PM CDTF0Wright0.523$50 to $500
June 16, 19937:18 AM CDTF0Wright0.220$50 to $500
May 17, 19914:52 PM CDTF0Wright0.320$500 to $5,000
May 17, 19912:00 PM CDTF2Hamilton9.060$5,000 to $50,000
June 29, 19907:45 PM CDTF1Wright3.040$500 to $5,000
June 29, 19907:41 PM CDTF0Wright0.220$500 to $5,000
June 12, 19907:40 PM CDTF0Wright0.417$5,000 to $50,000
June 16, 19845:43 PM CDTF1Wright7.077$5,000 to $50,000
July 13, 19797:15 PM CDTF1Wright0.860$5,000 to $50,000
June 28, 19797:40 PM CDTF1Humboldt20.3300$50,000 to $500,000
June 15, 19781:01 AM CDTF0Wright0.510
May 30, 19746:30 PM CDTF0Wright0.110$50 to $500
September 26, 19733:40 AM CDTF2Wright1.0100$5,000 to $50,000
September 12, 19727:31 PM CDTF1Wright0.1100$5,000 to $50,000
June 24, 19687:00 PM GMT-5F1Wright0.3100$500 to $5,000
October 14, 19662:55 PM GMT-5F5Wright9.71,0006172$5 million to $50 million
April 26, 196412:30 AM GMT-5F2Wright4.7300$5,000 to $50,000
June 7, 195310:00 PM GMT-5F2Webster49.0200

Nearby

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