The U.S state of Iowa experiences multiple tornadoes every year. There have been at least 3,417 recorded tornadoes since 1950. At least 2,340 people have been injured, and 100 people have died due to these tornadoes.[1] There have been multiple tornadoes before 1950, but most of them are not recorded accurately or at all, but the most violent and deadliest tornadoes before 1950 have been recorded. The deadliest tornado was the Camanche tornado, which killed 72 people in Iowa.[2]
2024 was a record-breaking year in Iowa. Iowa saw 125 tornadoes in 2024 which beat the previous record of 120 tornadoes in 2004. In April and May alone, Iowa saw 98 tornadoes, giving the months of April 2024 and May 2024 the second and third most tornadoes in a month, just before May 2004 which saw 57 tornadoes.[3]
The most tornado-prone parts of Iowa are in the northeastern counties. The counties of Delaware, Black Hawk, Buchanan, Linn, and Benton on average have seen at least one strong tornado each year from 1953 to 2008.[4]
Climatology
A tornado is a violent column of air that extends from a thunderstorm to the ground. Although tornadoes can happen at any time of the year, the most popular time for tornadoes to form in Iowa is from April through June. Iowa is in the central plains, where the Rocky Mountains to the west and the Appalachian Mountains to the east meet. This unique geography creates a funneling effect, channeling warm, moist air from the Gulf of Mexico and cool, dry air from Canada.[5] These are the most ideal conditions for tornadoes to form, with Iowa being caught inside of Tornado Alley, along with other Great Plains states, greatly increasing the chances of a tornado to form in Iowa.[6]
Most active months for tornadoes in Iowa from 1980-2019[7]
The Enhanced Fujita Scale, or EF Scale, is used to assign a tornado a rating based on estimated wind speeds and related damage. When tornado-related damage is surveyed, it is compared to a list of damage indicators and degrees of damage, which help estimate better the range of wind speeds the tornado likely produced. From that, a rating from EF0 to EF5 is assigned.[8]
EF Scale
EF Rating
Wind Gust Speed (mph)
0
65-85
1
86-110
2
111-135
3
136-165
4
166-200
5
Over 200
Pre-1900
FU
F0
F1
F2
F3
F4
F5
Total
11
0
1
67
45
27
4
155
Deaths: >540
Injuries: >2,186
A total of 155 recorded tornadoes touched down in Iowa before 1900. At least 540 people died and 2,186 people were injured due to these tornadoes before 1950. There have been 37 intense tornadoes with a rating of F4+, or 2 or more fatalities, the deadliest of which was on June 3, 1860, in Camanche, killing 92. This time period for tornadoes in Iowa is the deadliest period of tornadoes in Iowa, with each recorded tornado killing on average 3.48 people. The first use of a tornado warning in the United States wasn't until March 25, 1948.[9] This caused tornadoes before the 1950s to be more dangerous, because people thought that tornadoes would be too rare to strike a region so there was no point in issuing warnings.[10]
Camanche Tornado
A brick college in Grinnell after the June 17, 1882, Grinnell tornado
On June 3, 1860, an F4 tornado touched down north of Bennett, moving across eastern Iowa, killing 20 people in rural Clinton County. It then ripped through Camanche, destroying almost every building in the town and killing 41. A raft carrying 26 was hit by the tornado and flipped, killing all but 3 men. The tornado caused an estimated $250,000 - $300,000 in damages.[11]
On June 17, 1882, two tornadoes formed and intersected in Grinnell forming one tornado at F5 intensity.[12] It travelled across central Iowa, killing a total of 68 people. 10 people died near Rippey, 7 people died in Jasper County, 39 in Grinnell, and 10 in Malcolm.[13]
Pomeroy Tornado
On July 6, 1893, an F5 tornado touched down northwest of Quimby, moving toward the town of Pomeroy. With a damage path 500 yards (460 m) wide and 55 miles (89km) long, the tornado destroyed about 80% of the homes in Pomeroy. The tornado killed 71 people and injured 200.[14]
†Deadliest in Iowa history at time of event
‡Tornado crossed state lines in or out of Iowa
Intense (F4+ or 2 or more fatalities) tornadoes inIowa, pre–1900[15]
A total of 352 tornadoes touched down in Iowa between 1900 and 1949. At least 292 people died and 1,861 people were injured. There were 43 intense F4+ tornadoes, the deadliest of which was the 1913 Easter tornado that hit Omaha, Nebraska, making its way over the border into Iowa, killing a total of 103 people and injuring 350 others.[16]
An F4 tornado touched down in La Vista, Nebraska, a suburb of Omaha, traveling through the city of Omaha and crossing the border into Iowa. In total, 103 people died, 9 of whom were in Iowa.[17] The tornado had a damage path of 40.3mi (64.86km) long and 400 yds (365.76 m) wide.[18]
Crawford County Tornado
On May 21, 1918, an F5 tornado touched down in Crawford County, moving across the county and into Greene County as well. According to witnesses, twenty or more farms were destroyed and a couple riding in a buggy north of Churdan were caught by the tornado and died. Mattresses were carried two miles away and farms and homes were wiped completely off their foundations.[19]
Intense (F4+ or 2 or more fatalities) tornadoes inIowa, 1900-1949[15]
A total of 3,118 recorded tornadoes have touched down in Iowa since 1950, causing 101 deaths and injuring 2,400 as of July 2025. There have been 20 (E)F5 tornadoes, or 2 or more fatalities, the deadliest being the 1968 Hansell-Charles City tornado, which killed 13 and injured 462.[20]
A house completely swept off its foundation in Parkersburg after the 2008 Parkersburg-New Hartford tornado.
On May 15, 1968, a multi-vortex tornado hit the communities of Hansell, Hampton, Charles City, Elma, and Aredale, all in Iowa. It killed 13, injured 462, and hundreds of buildings were destroyed, primarily in the town of Charles City. Damage estimates were of more than $20 million. All of the deaths occurred in Charles City.[21]
On the afternoon of May 25, 2008, as part of a large tornado outbreak across the central plains, a large and extremely powerful EF5 wedge tornado devastated the towns of Parkersburg and New Hartford. The tornado killed nine people and caused about $75 million in damages in its approximately 43 mile path across northeast Iowa. The tornado killed 7 in Parkersburg and 2 in New Hartford.[22][23]
On the afternoon of May 21, 2024, a violent tornado tracked across southwestern Iowa, devastating the city of Greenfield. The tornado destroyed many structures and wind turbines across its path that stretched through Page, Taylor, Adams, and Adair counties, while also causing more than $31 million in property damage, killing five people and injuring 35 more. All of the fatalities happened in the town of Greenfield.[24] A Doppler on Wheels estimated wind speeds of 309–318mph (497–512km/h), making it the third highest winds recorded in a tornado in the United States, before the El Reno tornado and the Bridge Creek tornado.[25]
Intense (F5 or 2 or more fatalities) tornadoes inIowa, 1950–present[15][26]
↑ (July 1993). Significant Tornadoes 1680–1991: A Chronology and Analysis of Events. St. Johnsbury, Vermont: The Tornado Project of Environmental Films. ISBN1-879362-03-1.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
