Belle Plaine, IA Natural Disasters and Weather Extremes
Hot Rankings
The chance of earthquake damage in Belle Plaine is about the same as Iowa average and is much lower than the national average. The risk of tornado damage in Belle Plaine is higher than Iowa average and is much higher than the national average.
Earthquake Index, #492
| Belle Plaine, IA | 0.00 |
| Iowa | 0.00 |
| U.S. | 1.81 |
The earthquake index value is calculated based on historical earthquake events data using USA.com algorithms. It is an indicator of the earthquake level in a region. A higher earthquake index value means a higher chance of an earthquake.
Volcano Index, #1
| Belle Plaine, IA | 0.0000 |
| Iowa | 0.0000 |
| U.S. | 0.0023 |
The volcano index value is calculated based on the currently known volcanoes using USA.com algorithms. It is an indicator of the possibility of a region being affected by a possible volcano eruption. A higher volcano index value means a higher chance of being affected.
Tornado Index, #350
| Belle Plaine, IA | 250.39 |
| Iowa | 236.74 |
| U.S. | 136.45 |
The tornado index value is calculated based on historical tornado events data using USA.com algorithms. It is an indicator of the tornado level in a region. A higher tornado index value means a higher chance of tornado events.
Other Weather Extremes Events
A total of 4,209 other weather extremes events within 50 miles of Belle Plaine, IA were recorded from 1950 to 2010. The following is a break down of these events:
| Type | Count | Type | Count | Type | Count | Type | Count | Type | Count |
| Avalanche: | 0 | Blizzard: | 30 | Cold: | 47 | Dense Fog: | 8 | Drought: | 16 |
| Dust Storm: | 0 | Flood: | 522 | Hail: | 1,238 | Heat: | 16 | Heavy Snow: | 67 |
| High Surf: | 0 | Hurricane: | 0 | Ice Storm: | 37 | Landslide: | 0 | Strong Wind: | 79 |
| Thunderstorm Winds: | 1,666 | Tropical Storm: | 0 | Wildfire: | 0 | Winter Storm: | 92 | Winter Weather: | 34 |
| Other: | 357 | ||||||||
Volcanos Nearby
No volcano is found in or near Belle Plaine, IA.
Historical Earthquake Events
No historical earthquake events that had recorded magnitudes of 3.5 or above found in or near Belle Plaine, IA.
No historical earthquake events found in or near Belle Plaine, IA.
Historical Tornado Events
A total of 102 historical tornado events that had recorded magnitude of 2 or above found in or near Belle Plaine, IA.
| Distance (miles) | Date | Magnitude | Start Lat/Log | End Lat/Log | Length | Width | Fatalities | Injuries | Property Damage | Crop Damage | Affected County |
| 7.4 | 1956-04-26 | 2 | 42°00'N / 92°20'W | 42°00'N / 92°16'W | 2.30 Miles | 440 Yards | 0 | 0 | 3K | 0 | Tama |
| 7.8 | 1953-06-07 | 2 | 41°42'N / 92°45'W | 41°52'N / 91°45'W | 52.70 Miles | 200 Yards | 0 | 0 | 0K | 0 | Poweshiek |
| 9.0 | 1953-05-10 | 2 | 41°53'N / 92°27'W | 0 | 0 | 25K | 0 | Tama | |||
| 11.1 | 1974-08-12 | 4 | 41°45'N / 92°11'W | 2.00 Miles | 100 Yards | 0 | 2 | 250K | 0 | Iowa | |
| 11.3 | 1966-04-19 | 3 | 42°02'N / 92°17'W | 42°05'N / 92°14'W | 3.00 Miles | 400 Yards | 0 | 0 | 250K | 0 | Benton |
| 11.7 | 1966-04-19 | 3 | 41°52'N / 92°42'W | 42°02'N / 92°17'W | 24.10 Miles | 400 Yards | 0 | 4 | 250K | 0 | Tama |
| 11.8 | 1971-05-18 | 3 | 41°54'N / 92°05'W | 41°57'N / 92°01'W | 4.30 Miles | 300 Yards | 0 | 0 | 25K | 0 | Benton |
| 12.3 | 1991-04-27 | 2 | 41°42'N / 92°18'W | 41°44'N / 92°14'W | 4.50 Miles | 50 Yards | 0 | 0 | 250K | 0 | Iowa |
| 15.5 | 1959-05-09 | 2 | 42°06'N / 92°24'W | 0 | 0 | 25K | 0 | Tama | |||
| 16.6 | 1953-03-21 | 2 | 41°53'N / 92°37'W | 42°03'N / 92°33'W | 11.70 Miles | 100 Yards | 0 | 0 | 25K | 0 | Tama |
| 17.8 | 1971-05-31 | 3 | 42°06'N / 92°18'W | 42°12'N / 92°10'W | 9.40 Miles | 600 Yards | 0 | 0 | 250K | 0 | Tama |
| 17.9 | 1969-06-29 | 2 | 41°48'N / 92°36'W | 1.00 Mile | 250 Yards | 0 | 0 | 25K | 0 | Poweshiek | |
| 19.1 | 1965-06-27 | 2 | 42°03'N / 92°35'W | 0 | 0 | 3K | 0 | Tama | |||
| 22.4 | 1966-04-19 | 3 | 41°51'N / 92°43'W | 41°52'N / 92°42'W | 0 | 0 | 250K | 0 | Poweshiek | ||
| 22.5 | 1988-05-08 | 2 | 41°31'N / 92°19'W | 41°42'N / 91°49'W | 28.00 Miles | 60 Yards | 0 | 0 | 2.5M | 0 | Iowa |
| 23.3 | 1961-04-23 | 3 | 42°04'N / 92°46'W | 42°15'N / 91°13'W | 80.30 Miles | 800 Yards | 1 | 6 | 2.5M | 0 | Tama |
| 24.0 | 1958-07-14 | 2 | 42°12'N / 92°30'W | 0 | 0 | 25K | 0 | Tama | |||
| 24.4 | 1971-05-18 | 3 | 42°00'N / 91°52'W | 42°03'N / 91°48'W | 4.30 Miles | 200 Yards | 0 | 0 | 250K | 0 | Benton |
| 25.3 | 1978-06-26 | 2 | 41°35'N / 92°32'W | 0.70 Mile | 100 Yards | 0 | 1 | 2.5M | 0 | Poweshiek | |
| 25.9 | 1988-05-08 | 2 | 41°32'N / 92°24'W | 41°31'N / 92°19'W | 4.00 Miles | 60 Yards | 0 | 0 | 2.5M | 0 | Poweshiek |
| 26.2 | 1962-05-28 | 2 | 41°52'N / 92°47'W | 0 | 5 | 250K | 0 | Marshall | |||
| 26.2 | 1969-06-06 | 2 | 41°52'N / 92°47'W | 0 | 0 | 25K | 0 | Marshall | |||
| 26.5 | 1969-06-11 | 2 | 41°50'N / 92°47'W | 1.00 Mile | 100 Yards | 0 | 0 | 25K | 0 | Marshall | |
| 27.1 | 2003-07-20 | 2 | 42°00'N / 91°46'W | 42°00'N / 91°46'W | 1.00 Mile | 300 Yards | 0 | 0 | 500K | 45K | Linn |
| Brief Description: Tornado developed in a corn field about 0.5 miles north of Covington. The tornado moved South Southeast crossing North Glen and Michael Road in Covington and then lifted in another corn field just north of Ellis Road. | |||||||||||
| 27.1 | 1965-08-26 | 4 | 42°18'N / 92°11'W | 42°15'N / 92°06'W | 4.70 Miles | 200 Yards | 1 | 17 | 2.5M | 0 | Benton |
| 27.3 | 2004-05-21 | 3 | 42°03'N / 91°49'W | 42°04'N / 91°46'W | 3.00 Miles | 200 Yards | 0 | 0 | 250K | 50K | Linn |
| Brief Description: Rated F3 with winds estimated at 175 mph. Tornado developed just east of the Benton-Linn County Line Road and moved Northeast to Palo. The tornado initially caused damage to a farm 2 miles southwest of Palo where a garage and 3 outbuildings were destroyed. As it approached Palo, another farm was severely damaged where the roof and walls were torn off a house and a car was lofted 50 feet. The tornado continued across the southern edge of Palo where it destroyed a mobile home. | |||||||||||
| 27.3 | 1965-05-26 | 2 | 41°52'N / 91°54'W | 42°03'N / 91°36'W | 19.80 Miles | 33 Yards | 0 | 14 | 250K | 0 | Linn |
| 27.4 | 2007-09-30 | 2 | 41°34'N / 92°45'W | 41°42'N / 92°36'W | 12.00 Miles | 1250 Yards | 0 | 0 | 2.5M | 1.0M | Poweshiek |
| Brief Description: EVENT NARRATIVE: Tornado moved into Poweshiek County from Jasper County. It lifted west of Malcom. EPISODE NARRATIVE: A very dynamic weather system moved into Iowa during the afternoon of the 30th. The system was more reminiscent of what one would expect in April or May. A close upper level low pressure, negatively tilted, lifted northeast through the central U.S. The structure was very classic in appearance with a well defined comma cloudy, dry slot, and warm conveyor in place. By the early evening, the surface low became stacked with the upper low and was located over eastern Nebraska. A defined dry line extended south-southeast out of the low. Surface temperatures warmed into the mid 70s to mid 80s ahead of the low, with dew points in the mid to upper 60s. Dew points behind the dry line dropped into the upper 30s to mid 40s. The airmass became unstable by the late afternoon with CAPE values around 1000 J/kg and lifted indices in the -2 to -4 C. range. Strong dynamics were in place with a 90 kt mid level jet in place, a low level jet of 60 to 70 kts, and an effective shear of 45 to 55 kts. The freezing level was quite high ahead of the approaching low and was between 13,000 and 14,000 feet. The high freezing level, combined with the limited CAPE of 100 to 200 J/kg in the -10 to -30 C. layer of the atmosphere, limited hail production. The downdraft CAPE was in the 600 to 1000 J/kg range, with an LCL of about 1250 meters. Thunderstorms formed in two locations. The first was along the east edge of the dry slot across Kansas. These storms became severe and lifted northeast quite rapidly into southern and central Iowa. Spotty wind damage was reported and one of the storms dropped one inch diameter hail in Marion County. The storms became tornadic as the moved into central Iowa. During the evening of Sunday 30 September 2007 two tornadoes struck portions of Marion, Jasper, Mahaska, and Poweshiek Counties. The first tornado produced EF0 to EF2 damage along its track and was rated EF2 on the Enhanced Fujita Scale with maximum winds of 125 mph. The track was 22 miles in length from 4 miles northeast of Pella to 1 mile north of Interstate 80, 2 miles west of Malcom. Much of the track was three to five tenths of a mile wide, but as wide as seven tenths of a mile at times. The second, shorter and weaker tornado was 5 miles in length and rated EF1 on the Enhanced Fujita Scale. The track began just south of Highway 6, 2.75 miles northwest of Malcom with a maximum width of 150 yards narrowing to 25-50 yards. The storm hit a farmstead just east of 110th street producing EF1 damage with speeds just under 100 mph. The tornadoes caused extensive damage on a farmstead near Malcom with three barns totally destroyed. The barns were 20 by 30 feet, 20 by 40 feet, and 60 by 100 feet. In addition, numerous other damage reports came in from along the track. Fortunately, there were no deaths or injuries from the tornadoes. Thunderstorms also formed close to the upper low center on the nose of the dry punch. There were several reports funnel clouds, along with spotty reports of high winds and hail. A storm chaser confirmed a tornado touchdown 2 NNW of Lytton in Sac county and was on the ground until 4 W of Jolley in Calhoun county. The tornado was in open country and was a small EF0 tornado. One inch diameter hail fell in Sac County, with numerous reports of pea to marble size hail. | |||||||||||
| 27.8 | 1973-04-21 | 2 | 41°35'N / 91°55'W | 41°40'N / 91°50'W | 6.60 Miles | 33 Yards | 0 | 6 | 0K | 0 | Iowa |
| 28.0 | 1973-04-21 | 2 | 41°40'N / 91°50'W | 41°45'N / 91°45'W | 6.60 Miles | 33 Yards | 0 | 0 | 2.5M | 0 | Johnson |
| 28.0 | 1978-09-16 | 3 | 41°42'N / 92°46'W | 41°39'N / 92°42'W | 4.10 Miles | 200 Yards | 4 | 43 | 2.5M | 0 | Poweshiek |
| 28.2 | 1965-07-18 | 2 | 42°18'N / 92°12'W | 0.50 Mile | 50 Yards | 0 | 0 | 0K | 0 | Black Hawk | |
| 28.3 | 1965-08-26 | 4 | 42°18'N / 92°12'W | 42°18'N / 92°11'W | 0 | 0 | 2.5M | 0 | Black Hawk | ||
| 29.3 | 1989-05-24 | 4 | 42°11'N / 92°45'W | 42°12'N / 92°37'W | 8.00 Miles | 150 Yards | 0 | 0 | 25.0M | 0 | Tama |
| 29.9 | 1984-06-07 | 4 | 41°25'N / 92°26'W | 41°31'N / 91°57'W | 29.00 Miles | 250 Yards | 1 | 33 | 25.0M | 0 | Keokuk |
| 30.7 | 1984-06-07 | 4 | 41°31'N / 91°57'W | 41°35'N / 91°51'W | 7.00 Miles | 250 Yards | 0 | 0 | 25.0M | 0 | Iowa |
| 30.7 | 1991-09-12 | 2 | 41°40'N / 91°50'W | 41°42'N / 91°40'W | 7.00 Miles | 70 Yards | 0 | 0 | 250K | 0 | Johnson |
| 31.0 | 1961-04-23 | 3 | 42°02'N / 92°55'W | 42°04'N / 92°46'W | 7.40 Miles | 800 Yards | 0 | 6 | 2.5M | 0 | Marshall |
| 31.2 | 2001-05-10 | 2 | 42°13'N / 92°45'W | 42°11'N / 92°42'W | 4.00 Miles | 750 Yards | 0 | 0 | 35K | 0 | Tama |
| Brief Description: Tornado moved out of Grundy County into Tama County. Track was through mostly rural areas with limited damage. A cold front frontal system located to the northwest of Iowa began to sink southeast into the state during the late afternoon of the 10th. This was in fact the same cold front that set off the thunderstorm activity the previous night. The atmosphere had become quite unstable by the late afternoon with temperatures in the 80s and dew point temperature in the low to mid 60s. CAPE values were in the 2000 to 3500 J/kg range. Thunderstorms erupted during the mid afternoon hours over the north central counties of the state. These storms produced hail of one to one and one half inches in diameter. The instability of the atmosphere, combined with a favorable sheer profile, contributed to the rather quick development of tornadic supercells. The first tornado touched down in Greene County. This tornado touched down briefly and did little damage. As the afternoon progressed, the hail became larger with several reports of hail up to golf ball size from central Iowa east into the east central counties. Some of the largest hail occurred southwest of State Center in Marshall County. Baseball size hail pelted the area, causing considerable damage. One supercell produced a family of at least four tornadoes in the Grundy County area. It is very fortunate that the tornadoes from this storm did not hit within a populated area. Two of the tornadoes were fairly large. At one point, the strongest tornado was about one half mile wide based on reports from a respectable storm chaser. This tornado tracked south through eastern Grundy County and crossed into Tama County. One barn was destroyed by the larger tornado, with a house damaged by the second strong tornado. Miraculously, though the first tornado totally destroyed the barn on a farm near Conrad, none of the animals inside were injured. In fact, it was reported that the livestock appeared to be enjoying their newfound freedom as they wandered the fields at the farm. There were reports of several small tornadoes touching down in central Iowa, however they were little more than brief touchdowns. As the event progressed into the early evening hours, the thunderstorms too on a more multi-cellular structure. The large cluster of storms lost their tornadic characteristic and returned to large hail producers. Hail from three quarter inch to one and three quarter inch was common for the next several hours as the entire area moved southeast slowly. By the mid evening hours the storms began to weaken. As they did, a few reports of winds of 60 to 70 MPH were received. In addition to the wind and hail, the storms produced locally heavy rainfall. Flash flooding was also a problem with this event. The cluster of storms that dropped the tornadoes in Grundy County during the late afternoon hours caused flash flooding in the south part of the county. Rainfall near Conrad was between 2.5 and 5 inches in under two hours time. This flooded roads with some of the state roads in the south part of the county under water. The water receded fairly quickly. A merger of cells took place over Monroe County during the mid evening hours. This resulted in very heavy rainfall in the area with reports of up to 4 inches received. Flash flooding resulted with numerous roads being closed by overflowing creeks by the mid to late evening hours. | |||||||||||
| 32.2 | 1978-09-16 | 3 | 41°52'N / 93°00'W | 41°42'N / 92°46'W | 16.40 Miles | 200 Yards | 2 | 2 | 250K | 0 | Jasper |
| 32.2 | 1956-08-12 | 3 | 41°32'N / 92°45'W | 41°35'N / 92°40'W | 5.10 Miles | 200 Yards | 0 | 8 | 25K | 0 | Poweshiek |
| 32.9 | 2003-07-20 | 2 | 42°00'N / 91°39'W | 42°00'N / 91°39'W | 0.30 Mile | 200 Yards | 0 | 0 | 2.0M | 0 | Linn |
| Brief Description: Strong F2...winds estimated at 140 mph. Tornado touched down near the intersection of Zelda Drive and E Avenue Northwest. The tornado moved southeast for 0.25 miles across Peace Avenue and then lifted on Floral Avenue. The tornado reached peak intensity on Peace Avenue where F2 winds unroofed 3 homes, and 26 other homes were heavily damaged. This was the first tornado inside the Cedar Rapids city limits since 1965. | |||||||||||
| 33.0 | 1988-05-08 | 2 | 41°26'N / 92°10'W | 41°28'N / 91°55'W | 12.00 Miles | 60 Yards | 0 | 0 | 250K | 0 | Keokuk |
| 34.2 | 1954-04-30 | 2 | 41°40'N / 92°00'W | 42°28'N / 91°18'W | 65.80 Miles | 200 Yards | 0 | 0 | 0K | 0 | Iowa |
| 34.4 | 1956-08-18 | 2 | 41°23'N / 92°36'W | 41°28'N / 92°24'W | 11.50 Miles | 33 Yards | 0 | 0 | 25K | 0 | Mahaska |
| 34.6 | 1960-04-16 | 3 | 42°20'N / 92°35'W | 42°22'N / 92°32'W | 2.30 Miles | 800 Yards | 0 | 0 | 250K | 0 | Grundy |
| 35.0 | 1951-06-01 | 3 | 42°04'N / 92°55'W | 1.50 Miles | 880 Yards | 0 | 7 | 0K | 0 | Marshall | |
| 35.2 | 1988-05-08 | 2 | 41°42'N / 91°49'W | 41°52'N / 91°24'W | 27.00 Miles | 60 Yards | 0 | 0 | 2.5M | 0 | Johnson |
| 35.3 | 1984-06-07 | 2 | 41°28'N / 92°00'W | 41°28'N / 91°48'W | 10.00 Miles | 200 Yards | 0 | 1 | 2.5M | 0 | Keokuk |
| 35.7 | 1988-05-08 | 2 | 41°28'N / 91°55'W | 41°31'N / 91°46'W | 11.00 Miles | 60 Yards | 0 | 0 | 2.5M | 0 | Washington |
| 36.0 | 1971-05-31 | 2 | 42°24'N / 92°27'W | 1.00 Mile | 200 Yards | 0 | 0 | 25K | 0 | Black Hawk | |
| 36.1 | 1960-04-16 | 3 | 42°22'N / 92°32'W | 42°28'N / 92°05'W | 23.70 Miles | 800 Yards | 1 | 5 | 250K | 0 | Black Hawk |
| 36.2 | 2007-09-30 | 2 | 41°30'N / 92°49'W | 41°34'N / 92°45'W | 6.00 Miles | 1250 Yards | 0 | 0 | 1.0M | 500K | Jasper |
| Brief Description: EVENT NARRATIVE: Tornado moved into Jasper County from Mahaska County, then continued northeast into Poweshiek County. EPISODE NARRATIVE: A very dynamic weather system moved into Iowa during the afternoon of the 30th. The system was more reminiscent of what one would expect in April or May. A close upper level low pressure, negatively tilted, lifted northeast through the central U.S. The structure was very classic in appearance with a well defined comma cloudy, dry slot, and warm conveyor in place. By the early evening, the surface low became stacked with the upper low and was located over eastern Nebraska. A defined dry line extended south-southeast out of the low. Surface temperatures warmed into the mid 70s to mid 80s ahead of the low, with dew points in the mid to upper 60s. Dew points behind the dry line dropped into the upper 30s to mid 40s. The airmass became unstable by the late afternoon with CAPE values around 1000 J/kg and lifted indices in the -2 to -4 C. range. Strong dynamics were in place with a 90 kt mid level jet in place, a low level jet of 60 to 70 kts, and an effective shear of 45 to 55 kts. The freezing level was quite high ahead of the approaching low and was between 13,000 and 14,000 feet. The high freezing level, combined with the limited CAPE of 100 to 200 J/kg in the -10 to -30 C. layer of the atmosphere, limited hail production. The downdraft CAPE was in the 600 to 1000 J/kg range, with an LCL of about 1250 meters. Thunderstorms formed in two locations. The first was along the east edge of the dry slot across Kansas. These storms became severe and lifted northeast quite rapidly into southern and central Iowa. Spotty wind damage was reported and one of the storms dropped one inch diameter hail in Marion County. The storms became tornadic as the moved into central Iowa. During the evening of Sunday 30 September 2007 two tornadoes struck portions of Marion, Jasper, Mahaska, and Poweshiek Counties. The first tornado produced EF0 to EF2 damage along its track and was rated EF2 on the Enhanced Fujita Scale with maximum winds of 125 mph. The track was 22 miles in length from 4 miles northeast of Pella to 1 mile north of Interstate 80, 2 miles west of Malcom. Much of the track was three to five tenths of a mile wide, but as wide as seven tenths of a mile at times. The second, shorter and weaker tornado was 5 miles in length and rated EF1 on the Enhanced Fujita Scale. The track began just south of Highway 6, 2.75 miles northwest of Malcom with a maximum width of 150 yards narrowing to 25-50 yards. The storm hit a farmstead just east of 110th street producing EF1 damage with speeds just under 100 mph. The tornadoes caused extensive damage on a farmstead near Malcom with three barns totally destroyed. The barns were 20 by 30 feet, 20 by 40 feet, and 60 by 100 feet. In addition, numerous other damage reports came in from along the track. Fortunately, there were no deaths or injuries from the tornadoes. Thunderstorms also formed close to the upper low center on the nose of the dry punch. There were several reports funnel clouds, along with spotty reports of high winds and hail. A storm chaser confirmed a tornado touchdown 2 NNW of Lytton in Sac county and was on the ground until 4 W of Jolley in Calhoun county. The tornado was in open country and was a small EF0 tornado. One inch diameter hail fell in Sac County, with numerous reports of pea to marble size hail. | |||||||||||
| 36.3 | 1966-10-14 | 2 | 42°03'N / 91°36'W | 5.00 Miles | 33 Yards | 0 | 0 | 250K | 0 | Linn | |
| 36.4 | 1954-05-23 | 2 | 42°10'N / 91°40'W | 0 | 0 | 3K | 0 | Linn | |||
| 36.5 | 2001-05-10 | 2 | 42°17'N / 92°49'W | 42°14'N / 92°46'W | 4.00 Miles | 875 Yards | 0 | 0 | 35K | 0 | Grundy |
| Brief Description: Tornado dropped down north of Beaman and progressed southeast. Crossed into Tama County from Grundy County. Most of the track was through open country. A cold front frontal system located to the northwest of Iowa began to sink southeast into the state during the late afternoon of the 10th. This was in fact the same cold front that set off the thunderstorm activity the previous night. The atmosphere had become quite unstable by the late afternoon with temperatures in the 80s and dew point temperature in the low to mid 60s. CAPE values were in the 2000 to 3500 J/kg range. Thunderstorms erupted during the mid afternoon hours over the north central counties of the state. These storms produced hail of one to one and one half inches in diameter. The instability of the atmosphere, combined with a favorable sheer profile, contributed to the rather quick development of tornadic supercells. The first tornado touched down in Greene County. This tornado touched down briefly and did little damage. As the afternoon progressed, the hail became larger with several reports of hail up to golf ball size from central Iowa east into the east central counties. Some of the largest hail occurred southwest of State Center in Marshall County. Baseball size hail pelted the area, causing considerable damage. One supercell produced a family of at least four tornadoes in the Grundy County area. It is very fortunate that the tornadoes from this storm did not hit within a populated area. Two of the tornadoes were fairly large. At one point, the strongest tornado was about one half mile wide based on reports from a respectable storm chaser. This tornado tracked south through eastern Grundy County and crossed into Tama County. One barn was destroyed by the larger tornado, with a house damaged by the second strong tornado. Miraculously, though the first tornado totally destroyed the barn on a farm near Conrad, none of the animals inside were injured. In fact, it was reported that the livestock appeared to be enjoying their newfound freedom as they wandered the fields at the farm. There were reports of several small tornadoes touching down in central Iowa, however they were little more than brief touchdowns. As the event progressed into the early evening hours, the thunderstorms too on a more multi-cellular structure. The large cluster of storms lost their tornadic characteristic and returned to large hail producers. Hail from three quarter inch to one and three quarter inch was common for the next several hours as the entire area moved southeast slowly. By the mid evening hours the storms began to weaken. As they did, a few reports of winds of 60 to 70 MPH were received. In addition to the wind and hail, the storms produced locally heavy rainfall. Flash flooding was also a problem with this event. The cluster of storms that dropped the tornadoes in Grundy County during the late afternoon hours caused flash flooding in the south part of the county. Rainfall near Conrad was between 2.5 and 5 inches in under two hours time. This flooded roads with some of the state roads in the south part of the county under water. The water receded fairly quickly. A merger of cells took place over Monroe County during the mid evening hours. This resulted in very heavy rainfall in the area with reports of up to 4 inches received. Flash flooding resulted with numerous roads being closed by overflowing creeks by the mid to late evening hours. | |||||||||||
| 37.0 | 1989-05-24 | 4 | 42°12'N / 93°00'W | 42°11'N / 92°45'W | 13.50 Miles | 150 Yards | 0 | 0 | 25.0M | 0 | Marshall |
| 37.8 | 1975-11-09 | 3 | 42°12'N / 92°28'W | 42°41'N / 92°03'W | 39.40 Miles | 33 Yards | 0 | 0 | 2.5M | 0 | Tama |
| 39.0 | 1965-09-20 | 3 | 41°20'N / 92°12'W | 1.00 Mile | 100 Yards | 0 | 4 | 250K | 0 | Keokuk | |
| 39.3 | 1984-06-07 | 2 | 41°28'N / 91°48'W | 41°30'N / 91°42'W | 8.00 Miles | 200 Yards | 0 | 0 | 2.5M | 0 | Washington |
| 40.3 | 2001-05-10 | 2 | 42°15'N / 92°55'W | 42°14'N / 92°54'W | 1.70 Miles | 200 Yards | 0 | 0 | 150K | 0 | Grundy |
| Brief Description: Most in open country. One barn hit and destroyed. A cold front frontal system located to the northwest of Iowa began to sink southeast into the state during the late afternoon of the 10th. This was in fact the same cold front that set off the thunderstorm activity the previous night. The atmosphere had become quite unstable by the late afternoon with temperatures in the 80s and dew point temperature in the low to mid 60s. CAPE values were in the 2000 to 3500 J/kg range. Thunderstorms erupted during the mid afternoon hours over the north central counties of the state. These storms produced hail of one to one and one half inches in diameter. The instability of the atmosphere, combined with a favorable sheer profile, contributed to the rather quick development of tornadic supercells. The first tornado touched down in Greene County. This tornado touched down briefly and did little damage. As the afternoon progressed, the hail became larger with several reports of hail up to golf ball size from central Iowa east into the east central counties. Some of the largest hail occurred southwest of State Center in Marshall County. Baseball size hail pelted the area, causing considerable damage. One supercell produced a family of at least four tornadoes in the Grundy County area. It is very fortunate that the tornadoes from this storm did not hit within a populated area. Two of the tornadoes were fairly large. At one point, the strongest tornado was about one half mile wide based on reports from a respectable storm chaser. This tornado tracked south through eastern Grundy County and crossed into Tama County. One barn was destroyed by the larger tornado, with a house damaged by the second strong tornado. Miraculously, though the first tornado totally destroyed the barn on a farm near Conrad, none of the animals inside were injured. In fact, it was reported that the livestock appeared to be enjoying their newfound freedom as they wandered the fields at the farm. There were reports of several small tornadoes touching down in central Iowa, however they were little more than brief touchdowns. As the event progressed into the early evening hours, the thunderstorms too on a more multi-cellular structure. The large cluster of storms lost their tornadic characteristic and returned to large hail producers. Hail from three quarter inch to one and three quarter inch was common for the next several hours as the entire area moved southeast slowly. By the mid evening hours the storms began to weaken. As they did, a few reports of winds of 60 to 70 MPH were received. In addition to the wind and hail, the storms produced locally heavy rainfall. Flash flooding was also a problem with this event. The cluster of storms that dropped the tornadoes in Grundy County during the late afternoon hours caused flash flooding in the south part of the county. Rainfall near Conrad was between 2.5 and 5 inches in under two hours time. This flooded roads with some of the state roads in the south part of the county under water. The water receded fairly quickly. A merger of cells took place over Monroe County during the mid evening hours. This resulted in very heavy rainfall in the area with reports of up to 4 inches received. Flash flooding resulted with numerous roads being closed by overflowing creeks by the mid to late evening hours. | |||||||||||
| 40.4 | 1988-05-08 | 2 | 41°31'N / 91°46'W | 41°33'N / 91°33'W | 13.00 Miles | 60 Yards | 0 | 0 | 2.5M | 0 | Johnson |
| 40.5 | 2006-04-13 | 2 | 41°40'N / 91°33'W | 41°40'N / 91°33'W | 4.50 Miles | 587 Yards | 0 | 30 | 12.0M | 0 | Johnson |
| Brief Description: Rated very high F2 with winds estimated at 155 mph. Tornado developed at the intersection of highways 1 & 218 on the southwest side of Iowa City at 1929 CST and tracked northeast through the city before lifting just northeast of the intersection of 1st Avenue & Hickory Trail at 1937 CST. This path took it through the southeast corner of the University of Iowa campus. This was the first tornado to hit near the campus in 35 years and the University was closed on Friday April 14th for safety reasons. The KIOW ASOS at the airport on the southwest side of the city recorded a peak wind gust of 49 knots (57 mph) at 1931 CST. This gust was likely the result of the rear flank downdraft as the tornado neared the intersection of U.S. 6 and highway 1 northeast of the airport. Hard times for the location of the tornado are 1930 CST at the Wal-Mart. At 1932-1933 CST power was lost at the Johnson County Sheriff Office with telephone lines, LAN, and automated systems going down as the tornado passed over the building. While the tornado was passing over the sheriff's office, someone flipped the outdoor warning sirens from automatic to manual override and activated the sirens one final time. Damage totals are still being evaluated and the $12 million amount will likely be closer to $15 million or possibly higher. Known damage amounts include; Iowa City and Johnson County $4 million with an additional $755,000 of uninsured loses (traffic lights, signs, street lights), University of Iowa $6 million with the motor pool headquarters a total loss and 31 vehicles damaged, and $1.3 million in damage to residences/businesses. Three automobile dealerships were damaged; one dealership had 200 vehicles damaged, a second had 60-70 vehicles damaged, and a third had nearly every vehicle sustaining some type of damage. A total of 1,016 residential and 35 commercial buildings were damaged with some destroyed. Some well known landmark buildings known to citizens, college students, and alumni were lost or heavily damaged. These included the Dairy Queen (lost) and St. Patrick's Church (heavily damaged). Several historic buildings were damaged downtown and it is unknown whether or not they can or will be saved. The tornado damaged the Alpha Chi Omega sorority house and damaged many student apartments located just off the campus on Iowa, Dodge, and Governor streets. Given the strength and width of the tornado it is amazing that only 30 injuries (many minor) occurred. Many U of I students were unaware of what was happening or dashed to a nearby parking garage for safety with the tornado approaching a few blocks behind them. Several foreign exchange students, many of whom had never seen, experienced, or heard of a tornado, were in awe and disbelief over the magnitude of the event. At St. Patrick's Church, the Maundy Thursday evening service had just ended. Upon being told of an approaching tornado by Decon Jerome Miller, the Reverend Rudolph Juarez ushered 50 to 75 parishioners (many elderly) to the safety of the rectory basement next door. This action saved the lives of everyone as the tornado tore off the roof off the church and collapsed the top portion of the brick facade and the steeple into the main congregation area. | |||||||||||
| 40.7 | 2007-09-30 | 2 | 41°28'N / 92°52'W | 41°30'N / 92°49'W | 3.00 Miles | 1250 Yards | 0 | 0 | 500K | 250K | Mahaska |
| Brief Description: EVENT NARRATIVE: Tornado moved into Mahaska County from Marion County, then continued northeast into Jasper County. EPISODE NARRATIVE: A very dynamic weather system moved into Iowa during the afternoon of the 30th. The system was more reminiscent of what one would expect in April or May. A close upper level low pressure, negatively tilted, lifted northeast through the central U.S. The structure was very classic in appearance with a well defined comma cloudy, dry slot, and warm conveyor in place. By the early evening, the surface low became stacked with the upper low and was located over eastern Nebraska. A defined dry line extended south-southeast out of the low. Surface temperatures warmed into the mid 70s to mid 80s ahead of the low, with dew points in the mid to upper 60s. Dew points behind the dry line dropped into the upper 30s to mid 40s. The airmass became unstable by the late afternoon with CAPE values around 1000 J/kg and lifted indices in the -2 to -4 C. range. Strong dynamics were in place with a 90 kt mid level jet in place, a low level jet of 60 to 70 kts, and an effective shear of 45 to 55 kts. The freezing level was quite high ahead of the approaching low and was between 13,000 and 14,000 feet. The high freezing level, combined with the limited CAPE of 100 to 200 J/kg in the -10 to -30 C. layer of the atmosphere, limited hail production. The downdraft CAPE was in the 600 to 1000 J/kg range, with an LCL of about 1250 meters. Thunderstorms formed in two locations. The first was along the east edge of the dry slot across Kansas. These storms became severe and lifted northeast quite rapidly into southern and central Iowa. Spotty wind damage was reported and one of the storms dropped one inch diameter hail in Marion County. The storms became tornadic as the moved into central Iowa. During the evening of Sunday 30 September 2007 two tornadoes struck portions of Marion, Jasper, Mahaska, and Poweshiek Counties. The first tornado produced EF0 to EF2 damage along its track and was rated EF2 on the Enhanced Fujita Scale with maximum winds of 125 mph. The track was 22 miles in length from 4 miles northeast of Pella to 1 mile north of Interstate 80, 2 miles west of Malcom. Much of the track was three to five tenths of a mile wide, but as wide as seven tenths of a mile at times. The second, shorter and weaker tornado was 5 miles in length and rated EF1 on the Enhanced Fujita Scale. The track began just south of Highway 6, 2.75 miles northwest of Malcom with a maximum width of 150 yards narrowing to 25-50 yards. The storm hit a farmstead just east of 110th street producing EF1 damage with speeds just under 100 mph. The tornadoes caused extensive damage on a farmstead near Malcom with three barns totally destroyed. The barns were 20 by 30 feet, 20 by 40 feet, and 60 by 100 feet. In addition, numerous other damage reports came in from along the track. Fortunately, there were no deaths or injuries from the tornadoes. Thunderstorms also formed close to the upper low center on the nose of the dry punch. There were several reports funnel clouds, along with spotty reports of high winds and hail. A storm chaser confirmed a tornado touchdown 2 NNW of Lytton in Sac county and was on the ground until 4 W of Jolley in Calhoun county. The tornado was in open country and was a small EF0 tornado. One inch diameter hail fell in Sac County, with numerous reports of pea to marble size hail. | |||||||||||
| 40.9 | 1973-06-04 | 2 | 41°42'N / 93°03'W | 41°44'N / 93°01'W | 1.30 Miles | 250 Yards | 0 | 0 | 250K | 0 | Jasper |
| 41.2 | 1964-05-07 | 2 | 42°31'N / 92°20'W | 42°28'N / 92°12'W | 7.10 Miles | 200 Yards | 0 | 27 | 25.0M | 0 | Black Hawk |
| 41.5 | 1984-06-07 | 2 | 41°30'N / 91°42'W | 41°32'N / 91°36'W | 6.00 Miles | 200 Yards | 0 | 0 | 2.5M | 0 | Johnson |
| 41.7 | 1953-06-27 | 2 | 41°24'N / 92°36'W | 41°20'N / 92°44'W | 7.80 Miles | 100 Yards | 0 | 1 | 3K | 0 | Mahaska |
| 41.7 | 1953-05-20 | 3 | 41°59'N / 91°34'W | 42°01'N / 91°23'W | 9.40 Miles | 400 Yards | 0 | 4 | 0K | 0 | Linn |
| 42.0 | 1978-09-16 | 3 | 41°58'N / 93°11'W | 41°52'N / 93°00'W | 11.30 Miles | 200 Yards | 0 | 0 | 0K | 0 | Marshall |
| 42.4 | 1966-04-19 | 2 | 42°27'N / 92°36'W | 42°29'N / 92°33'W | 2.30 Miles | 200 Yards | 0 | 0 | 25K | 0 | Grundy |
| 42.4 | 1960-04-16 | 3 | 42°28'N / 92°05'W | 42°30'N / 92°00'W | 3.80 Miles | 800 Yards | 0 | 0 | 250K | 0 | Buchanan |
| 42.5 | 1950-07-01 | 2 | 42°27'N / 91°55'W | 14.00 Miles | 33 Yards | 0 | 0 | 0K | 0 | Buchanan | |
| 42.5 | 1976-06-13 | 2 | 42°25'N / 92°16'W | 42°36'N / 92°08'W | 14.00 Miles | 100 Yards | 0 | 0 | 25K | 0 | Black Hawk |
| 42.7 | 1962-05-22 | 2 | 41°39'N / 91°32'W | 41°42'N / 91°28'W | 4.10 Miles | 800 Yards | 1 | 0 | 250K | 0 | Johnson |
| 43.2 | 1972-09-28 | 2 | 42°12'N / 91°47'W | 42°17'N / 91°22'W | 21.90 Miles | 2200 Yards | 0 | 3 | 2.5M | 0 | Linn |
| 43.4 | 1989-05-30 | 4 | 42°14'N / 92°59'W | 42°16'N / 92°58'W | 2.00 Miles | 200 Yards | 0 | 0 | 2.5M | 0 | Grundy |
| 43.4 | 1964-05-04 | 2 | 42°07'N / 91°28'W | 42°09'N / 91°31'W | 2.30 Miles | 200 Yards | 0 | 1 | 250K | 0 | Linn |
| 43.5 | 1964-06-22 | 2 | 41°24'N / 92°54'W | 41°28'N / 92°48'W | 6.40 Miles | 200 Yards | 0 | 0 | 25K | 0 | Marion |
| 43.7 | 1981-04-10 | 2 | 41°53'N / 93°10'W | 41°57'N / 93°05'W | 5.60 Miles | 500 Yards | 0 | 9 | 2.5M | 0 | Marshall |
| 43.7 | 1965-05-25 | 2 | 41°20'N / 92°40'W | 2.00 Miles | 300 Yards | 0 | 0 | 3K | 0 | Mahaska | |
| 44.0 | 1984-06-07 | 4 | 41°10'N / 92°40'W | 41°25'N / 92°26'W | 14.00 Miles | 250 Yards | 1 | 30 | 25.0M | 0 | Mahaska |
| 44.6 | 2000-05-11 | 2 | 42°34'N / 92°10'W | 42°30'N / 92°08'W | 5.00 Miles | 150 Yards | 0 | 0 | 300K | 2K | Black Hawk |
| Brief Description: Two houses destroyed The seasons first tornado outbreak took place during the late afternoon and early evening hours of the 11th. During the day, very strong warm air advection took place. Temperatures warmed rapidly during the day with highs reaching the mid to upper 90s over about the southwest half of the state. Dew point temperatures were in the upper 60s to low 70s. This combination produced CAPE values in excess of 8000 J/kg. During the afternoon, a strong cap was in place with 700 mb temperatures around +16 C. This prevented convection from firing during the afternoon. Toward evening, thunderstorms broke through the cap over northeast Iowa. The storms went from initial echo to tornadic storms in less than 50 minutes. A supercell formed west of the Waterloo area. This cell became a splitting cell and produced a brief tornado in Grundy County as the right moving cell split off, and golf ball size hail in Bremer County from the left moving cell. The cell moved off quickly, however additional supercells back developed over the same area. the strongest tornado developed in the Cedar Falls area and tracked across the northern portions of Waterloo. This cell produced a strong tornado which was actually a multi-vortex tornado based on reports from storm chasers in the area. At one point, west of Dunkerton, three tornadoes each one quarter mile wide were on the ground with this storm. The tornado damaged several houses and a few farmsteads along the way. Reports indicated between 5 and 10 houses in Black Hawk County were totally destroyed, and another 15 to 20 sustained significant damage. A total of at least 41 structures sustained at least some damage. In addition to the tornado, damage also occurred south of the track as RFD winds estimated as high as 100 MPH were observed. Dunkerton was hard hit as the tornado moved through. Heavy damage was reported at a coop elevator in Dunkerton, with 10 of 16 grain elevators damaged. A roof was removed from a church as well, resulting in about $500,000 damage. The City Hall building was destroyed in Dunkerton. The City Hall was housed in a series of double wide trailers since ironically the former City Hall building was destroyed just last year in the floods of '99. As the tornado moved through the fairly densely populated area, numerous injuries were reported. Some of the injuries were severe with limbs being cut off by flying debris. One woman lost both one arm and one hand, and had her back broken. She passed away 17 days after her injuries occurred. Six of the injuries occurred at a nursing home that was hit by the tornado. They occurred as the 139 residents were being evacuated. Reports indicated the width of the tornado was up to three-quarters of a mile at its widest. The damage path from the storm was around one and one half miles wide. The tornado continued moving east and crossed into Buchanan County, about 4 miles northeast of Dunkerton. A short time later, another cell developed in the Dunkerton area and dropped a tornado. That tornado struck a farm northwest of town, destroying the farm house and seven outbuildings. In addition to the damage that occurred to the structures, the family dog and one of the five horses on the farm were killed. Reports indicate a letter from one of the farm houses destroyed was found 60 miles away from Dunkerton in the town of Monona in Clayton County. Polly Mill's rural Dunkerton farmhouse was shredded by the tornado. She lost some of her late husband's military medals, pages out of the family Bible, and part of her collection of letters and first-issue stamps. Sixty miles away, on a farm east of Monona, the letter was found in an envelope carrying a first-day issue, 5-cent stamp commemorating the Battle of New Orleans. There was yet a third round of tornadic storms in the Dunkerton area. The last tornado touched down near Dunkerton and developed southward. Two houses in the town of Dunkerton were destroyed by this tornado. In addition to the tornadoes, very heavy rain fell in a narrow area of Black Hawk County. Reports of 3 inches or more of rain was received from the area. Soil conditions were very dry at the time. The dry soil conditions helped preclude any significant flooding. By the afternoon of the 12th, Iowa Governor Vilsack had declared Black Hawk County a state disaster area. | |||||||||||
| 44.7 | 1968-04-03 | 2 | 41°34'N / 93°05'W | 41°37'N / 93°00'W | 5.20 Miles | 150 Yards | 0 | 0 | 25K | 0 | Jasper |
| 44.8 | 1991-03-22 | 2 | 42°16'N / 93°00'W | 42°16'N / 92°59'W | 1.00 Mile | 50 Yards | 0 | 0 | 250K | 0 | Hardin |
| 45.5 | 1991-03-22 | 2 | 42°16'N / 92°59'W | 42°29'N / 92°47'W | 19.00 Miles | 50 Yards | 0 | 0 | 250K | 0 | Grundy |
| 45.8 | 2000-05-11 | 3 | 42°31'N / 92°27'W | 42°36'N / 92°07'W | 18.50 Miles | 400 Yards | 1 | 25 | 1.8M | 10K | Black Hawk |
| Brief Description: Multi-vortex, regerative tornado F72PH The seasons first tornado outbreak took place during the late afternoon and early evening hours of the 11th. During the day, very strong warm air advection took place. Temperatures warmed rapidly during the day with highs reaching the mid to upper 90s over about the southwest half of the state. Dew point temperatures were in the upper 60s to low 70s. This combination produced CAPE values in excess of 8000 J/kg. During the afternoon, a strong cap was in place with 700 mb temperatures around +16 C. This prevented convection from firing during the afternoon. Toward evening, thunderstorms broke through the cap over northeast Iowa. The storms went from initial echo to tornadic storms in less than 50 minutes. A supercell formed west of the Waterloo area. This cell became a splitting cell and produced a brief tornado in Grundy County as the right moving cell split off, and golf ball size hail in Bremer County from the left moving cell. The cell moved off quickly, however additional supercells back developed over the same area. the strongest tornado developed in the Cedar Falls area and tracked across the northern portions of Waterloo. This cell produced a strong tornado which was actually a multi-vortex tornado based on reports from storm chasers in the area. At one point, west of Dunkerton, three tornadoes each one quarter mile wide were on the ground with this storm. The tornado damaged several houses and a few farmsteads along the way. Reports indicated between 5 and 10 houses in Black Hawk County were totally destroyed, and another 15 to 20 sustained significant damage. A total of at least 41 structures sustained at least some damage. In addition to the tornado, damage also occurred south of the track as RFD winds estimated as high as 100 MPH were observed. Dunkerton was hard hit as the tornado moved through. Heavy damage was reported at a coop elevator in Dunkerton, with 10 of 16 grain elevators damaged. A roof was removed from a church as well, resulting in about $500,000 damage. The City Hall building was destroyed in Dunkerton. The City Hall was housed in a series of double wide trailers since ironically the former City Hall building was destroyed just last year in the floods of '99. As the tornado moved through the fairly densely populated area, numerous injuries were reported. Some of the injuries were severe with limbs being cut off by flying debris. One woman lost both one arm and one hand, and had her back broken. She passed away 17 days after her injuries occurred. Six of the injuries occurred at a nursing home that was hit by the tornado. They occurred as the 139 residents were being evacuated. Reports indicated the width of the tornado was up to three-quarters of a mile at its widest. The damage path from the storm was around one and one half miles wide. The tornado continued moving east and crossed into Buchanan County, about 4 miles northeast of Dunkerton. A short time later, another cell developed in the Dunkerton area and dropped a tornado. That tornado struck a farm northwest of town, destroying the farm house and seven outbuildings. In addition to the damage that occurred to the structures, the family dog and one of the five horses on the farm were killed. Reports indicate a letter from one of the farm houses destroyed was found 60 miles away from Dunkerton in the town of Monona in Clayton County. Polly Mill's rural Dunkerton farmhouse was shredded by the tornado. She lost some of her late husband's military medals, pages out of the family Bible, and part of her collection of letters and first-issue stamps. Sixty miles away, on a farm east of Monona, the letter was found in an envelope carrying a first-day issue, 5-cent stamp commemorating the Battle of New Orleans. There was yet a third round of tornadic storms in the Dunkerton area. The last tornado touched down near Dunkerton and developed southward. Two houses in the town of Dunkerton were destroyed by this tornado. In addition to the tornadoes, very heavy rain fell in a narrow area of Black Hawk County. Reports of 3 inches or more of rain was received from the area. Soil conditions were very dry at the time. The dry soil conditions helped preclude any significant flooding. By the afternoon of the 12th, Iowa Governor Vilsack had declared Black Hawk County a state disaster area. | |||||||||||
| 46.1 | 1989-04-27 | 2 | 40°44'N / 92°10'W | 41°56'N / 91°25'W | 12.00 Miles | 60 Yards | 0 | 0 | 250K | 0 | Van Buren |
| 46.3 | 1998-05-15 | 3 | 41°31'N / 91°30'W | 41°37'N / 91°29'W | 14.00 Miles | 400 Yards | 0 | 17 | 6.0M | 0 | Johnson |
| Brief Description: A tornado developed two miles Southwest of Washington Iowa and produced a 30 mile long continuous path of damage and debris as it moved to the Northeast at nearly 30 mph. The tornado weakened and lifted before reaching I-80 near West Branch Iowa shortly before 6pm. The tornado continued Northeast across Cedar County Iowa producing another 15 miles of isolated damage...not continuous. The storm producing this tornado continued Northeast producing a brief touchdown one mile west of Oxford Mills Iowa near the intersection of county roads E53 and X64. Another brief touchdown occurred south of Dubuque near Zwingle Iowa before the storm moved into Wisconsin. In Washington Iowa extensive damage was reported to businesses, a church, numerous homes, an apartment complex housing elderly residents and a livestock sale barn. Fourteen single family homes were destroyed, another fourteen received major damage and forty five reported minor damage. Three multi-family housing units were destroyed and two received major damage. Twenty six detached units (sheds and garages) were destroyed or sustained major damage. Across Washington county fourteen farmsteads were hit by the tornado with damage ranging from moderate to heavy. Utility damage was listed at $218,000. In the city of Washington twenty seven individuals sustained minor injuries requiring medical treatment. One person was hospitalized for treatment of injuries he received when his automobile was picked up and rolled over by the tornado. In Johnson County twenty miles of power lines and poles were damaged, fifteen roads were closed due to debris and one bridge was destroyed. Six residences were destroyed, eight more sustained minor the major damage, and three farms were affected. Seventeen people were treated and released for injuries in Johnson County. In Cedar County moderate to heavy damage was reported to five different properties as the tornado destroyed a home, barns, grain bins, machine and hog sheds, a hog nursery and a chicken coop. Two persons near Downey suffered injuries requiring stitches when bricks and debris fell upon them while they were taking shelter in their basement. | |||||||||||
| 46.7 | 1986-09-28 | 4 | 41°46'N / 93°20'W | 41°46'N / 93°00'W | 14.00 Miles | 250 Yards | 0 | 0 | 2.5M | 0 | Jasper |
| 47.7 | 2000-05-11 | 2 | 42°34'N / 92°14'W | 42°36'N / 92°10'W | 3.60 Miles | 120 Yards | 0 | 0 | 350K | 5K | Black Hawk |
| Brief Description: Farm and several outbuildings destroyed The seasons first tornado outbreak took place during the late afternoon and early evening hours of the 11th. During the day, very strong warm air advection took place. Temperatures warmed rapidly during the day with highs reaching the mid to upper 90s over about the southwest half of the state. Dew point temperatures were in the upper 60s to low 70s. This combination produced CAPE values in excess of 8000 J/kg. During the afternoon, a strong cap was in place with 700 mb temperatures around +16 C. This prevented convection from firing during the afternoon. Toward evening, thunderstorms broke through the cap over northeast Iowa. The storms went from initial echo to tornadic storms in less than 50 minutes. A supercell formed west of the Waterloo area. This cell became a splitting cell and produced a brief tornado in Grundy County as the right moving cell split off, and golf ball size hail in Bremer County from the left moving cell. The cell moved off quickly, however additional supercells back developed over the same area. the strongest tornado developed in the Cedar Falls area and tracked across the northern portions of Waterloo. This cell produced a strong tornado which was actually a multi-vortex tornado based on reports from storm chasers in the area. At one point, west of Dunkerton, three tornadoes each one quarter mile wide were on the ground with this storm. The tornado damaged several houses and a few farmsteads along the way. Reports indicated between 5 and 10 houses in Black Hawk County were totally destroyed, and another 15 to 20 sustained significant damage. A total of at least 41 structures sustained at least some damage. In addition to the tornado, damage also occurred south of the track as RFD winds estimated as high as 100 MPH were observed. Dunkerton was hard hit as the tornado moved through. Heavy damage was reported at a coop elevator in Dunkerton, with 10 of 16 grain elevators damaged. A roof was removed from a church as well, resulting in about $500,000 damage. The City Hall building was destroyed in Dunkerton. The City Hall was housed in a series of double wide trailers since ironically the former City Hall building was destroyed just last year in the floods of '99. As the tornado moved through the fairly densely populated area, numerous injuries were reported. Some of the injuries were severe with limbs being cut off by flying debris. One woman lost both one arm and one hand, and had her back broken. She passed away 17 days after her injuries occurred. Six of the injuries occurred at a nursing home that was hit by the tornado. They occurred as the 139 residents were being evacuated. Reports indicated the width of the tornado was up to three-quarters of a mile at its widest. The damage path from the storm was around one and one half miles wide. The tornado continued moving east and crossed into Buchanan County, about 4 miles northeast of Dunkerton. A short time later, another cell developed in the Dunkerton area and dropped a tornado. That tornado struck a farm northwest of town, destroying the farm house and seven outbuildings. In addition to the damage that occurred to the structures, the family dog and one of the five horses on the farm were killed. Reports indicate a letter from one of the farm houses destroyed was found 60 miles away from Dunkerton in the town of Monona in Clayton County. Polly Mill's rural Dunkerton farmhouse was shredded by the tornado. She lost some of her late husband's military medals, pages out of the family Bible, and part of her collection of letters and first-issue stamps. Sixty miles away, on a farm east of Monona, the letter was found in an envelope carrying a first-day issue, 5-cent stamp commemorating the Battle of New Orleans. There was yet a third round of tornadic storms in the Dunkerton area. The last tornado touched down near Dunkerton and developed southward. Two houses in the town of Dunkerton were destroyed by this tornado. In addition to the tornadoes, very heavy rain fell in a narrow area of Black Hawk County. Reports of 3 inches or more of rain was received from the area. Soil conditions were very dry at the time. The dry soil conditions helped preclude any significant flooding. By the afternoon of the 12th, Iowa Governor Vilsack had declared Black Hawk County a state disaster area. | |||||||||||
| 47.7 | 1976-06-12 | 2 | 42°32'N / 92°13'W | 42°38'N / 92°10'W | 6.90 Miles | 100 Yards | 0 | 2 | 25K | 0 | Black Hawk |
| 47.9 | 1989-05-24 | 4 | 42°13'N / 93°13'W | 42°12'N / 93°00'W | 12.50 Miles | 150 Yards | 0 | 0 | 25.0M | 0 | Hardin |
| 47.9 | 1966-06-05 | 2 | 42°17'N / 91°30'W | 0 | 0 | 0K | 0 | Linn | |||
| 48.1 | 1989-05-30 | 4 | 42°17'N / 93°10'W | 42°14'N / 92°59'W | 9.00 Miles | 200 Yards | 0 | 3 | 2.5M | 0 | Hardin |
| 48.1 | 2008-05-25 | 2 | 42°34'N / 92°33'W | 42°37'N / 92°04'W | 24.00 Miles | 2100 Yards | 0 | 20 | 25.0M | 155K | Black Hawk |
| Brief Description: EVENT NARRATIVE: Tornado moved in from Butler County and became very broad as it headed toward Fairbank. Tornado lifted on the Buchanan County border. EPISODE NARRATIVE: A very intense upper low was located over the southwest U.S. and lifted northeast during the weekend of the 24th into the morning of the 26th. The seasons first strong push of deep moisture moved into Iowa on the 25th with surface temperatures warming into the mid 80s and dew points surging into the upper 60s to low 70s. Precipitable water values were near 1.5 inches. The dry slot pushed north across the area the previous night as the warm front lifted north. The primary surface low was located over northern Minnesota. A cold front extended south from the low into northwest Iowa. The airmass became very unstable by the mid afternoon hours. MUCAPE rose to between 4000 and 5000 J/kg. Lifted indices fell to -8 to -11 C. There was a considerable amount of both DCAPE at 1000-1500 J/kg and cape in the -10 to-30 C. layer of the atmoshpere, between 400 and 600 J/kg. The freezing level was around 13,200 feet. The environment was quite sheared with effective shear in the 40 to 50 kt range. LCL values were between 1000 and 1500 meters. The airmass was initially capped. During the late afternoon hours, a small cluster of thunderstorms formed over north central into northeast Iowa. The storms became severe very quickly. Initially, the storms dropped hail up to golf ball in size. One became a strong super cell and produced a major tornado. This cell, in addition to being tornadic, also produced hail of baseball to softball in size and winds in excess of 90 MPH. The tornado track was from approximately 2 miles south of Aplington to Parkersburg, then continued to New Hartford and across northern Black Hawk County. The average path width ranged from 0.6 to 0.7 miles near Parkersburg to just north of New Hartford. The path constricted to near one quarter mile wide east of New Hartford to north of Waterloo. The width then increased to near 1.2 miles wide north of Dunkerton before dissipating near the Black Hawk and Buchanan County line. The tornado was on the ground for approximately 43 miles. In addition to the main tornado, a satellite tornado was observed by storm chasers and one off duty NWS employee. It was located south of the main tornado and was on the ground for a little over a mile in Grundy County. Initial reports indicated 9 fatalities with 7 in Parkersburg (pop 1889) and 2 in New Hartford (pop 637). There were at least 50 injuries, with 4 of those in critical condition. Two of the fatalities occurred a few days after the tornado from injuries sustained in the tornado. The last fatality occurred on 7 Nov. A 61 year old female sustained injuries in the stairwell of her home when a 2 x 4 was thrown through her right side lung. She was hospitalized and died several months later of complications. Significant structural damage occurred across the southern end of Parkersburg and along a path to just north of New Hartford. Numerous structures completely destroyed from Parkersburg to near New Hartford. The tornado continued eastward to just north of the Waterloo and Cedar Falls area. Significant damage also occurred north of Dunkerton where the tornado increased to its greatest path width. This storm also produced substantial straight line wind damage along the southern periphery of the storm just south of the tornado track. News accounts indicated that a receipt from Parkersburg was found around 1915 CST 3 miles north of Prairie du Chien, WI, 109 miles to the northeast. Receipits were also found in Clayton County at Elkader, and full scrapbook pages and photos were found in far northeast Bremer County at Sumner. Preliminary estimates that straight line winds of 90 to 100 MPH occurred with this storm. At 1637 CST, the Waterloo Airport recorded a 93 MPH wind gust. Survey results suggest that straight line wind damage was the cause of the severe damage at the recreational vehicle dealership north of Cedar Falls. At least 627 homes were damaged, including 288 homes destroyed in Parkersburg, 88 in New Hartford, 15 in Hazelton and another 50 in Black Hawk County. In addition, 58 had major damage, 33 had moderate damage, 2 were inaccessible, and 93 damaged but able to be occupied. There were also 21 businesses destroyed. Governor Chet Culver declared both Butler and Black Hawk disaster areas with both given the State Declaration. A Federal Disaster Declaration occurred two days later for both Butler and Black Hawk Counties. The tornado was rated a low end EF5 by a Quick Response Team (QRT) in portions of Parkersburg and north of New Hartford with peak winds estimated at 205 MPH. For historical reference, the last F5 tornado to hit Iowa was on 13 June 1976 in Boone and Story Counties in the town of Jordan, with a 21 mile path length. The last F4 tornado to hit Iowa was in Union, Madison, and Dallas Counties with a 56 mile path length on 8 April 1999. There was one other smaller tornado during the evening. A tornado touched down in Clarke County and was on the ground for a short time southeast of Osceola. After the initial thunderstorm area developed over north central and northeast Iowa, a large complex developed over southeast Nebraska. The two areas of storms filled in to form a squall line by the mid evening hours. The complex over Nebraska then pushed east and northeast along the squall line. A considerable amount of severe weather was generated during the evening as this occurred. Along the squall line, high winds and hail were common with the dominant mode of severe weather being hail of up to golf ball in size. As the MCS out of Nebraska advanced east, a tail extending south from the centroid took on a bow echo configuration and raced east across Iowa at 65 MPH. Very high winds occurred with this feature with numerous locations reporting winds of 65 to 85 MPH. Some of the higher winds included an 85 MPH wind gust in the Winterset area and numerous reports of 75 to 85 MPH winds from Madison, Dallas, Warren and Polk Counties. Lightning struck a house in Ankeny. The house was set on fire by the strike. | |||||||||||
| 48.3 | 1959-05-09 | 3 | 41°12'N / 91°59'W | 41°17'N / 91°54'W | 6.60 Miles | 200 Yards | 0 | 0 | 250K | 0 | Keokuk |
| 48.3 | 1990-06-02 | 2 | 42°24'N / 91°41'W | 42°25'N / 91°35'W | 5.50 Miles | 67 Yards | 0 | 0 | 250K | 0 | Buchanan |
| 48.9 | 1971-07-12 | 3 | 42°18'N / 91°31'W | 42°18'N / 91°28'W | 0 | 2 | 2.5M | 0 | Delaware | ||
| 49.5 | 1966-10-14 | 2 | 42°23'N / 92°56'W | 42°26'N / 92°58'W | 2.70 Miles | 100 Yards | 0 | 0 | 3K | 0 | Grundy |
| 49.7 | 1998-05-15 | 3 | 41°17'N / 91°44'W | 41°28'N / 91°29'W | 18.00 Miles | 400 Yards | 0 | 28 | 9.0M | 0 | Washington |
| Brief Description: A tornado developed two miles Southwest of Washington Iowa and produced a 30 mile long continuous path of damage and debris as it moved to the Northeast at nearly 30 mph. The tornado weakened and lifted before reaching I-80 near West Branch Iowa shortly before 6pm. The tornado continued Northeast across Cedar County Iowa producing another 15 miles of isolated damage...not continuous. The storm producing this tornado continued Northeast producing a brief touchdown one mile west of Oxford Mills Iowa near the intersection of county roads E53 and X64. Another brief touchdown occurred south of Dubuque near Zwingle Iowa before the storm moved into Wisconsin. In Washington Iowa extensive damage was reported to businesses, a church, numerous homes, an apartment complex housing elderly residents and a livestock sale barn. Fourteen single family homes were destroyed, another fourteen received major damage and forty five reported minor damage. Three multi-family housing units were destroyed and two received major damage. Twenty six detached units (sheds and garages) were destroyed or sustained major damage. Across Washington county fourteen farmsteads were hit by the tornado with damage ranging from moderate to heavy. Utility damage was listed at $218,000. In the city of Washington twenty seven individuals sustained minor injuries requiring medical treatment. One person was hospitalized for treatment of injuries he received when his automobile was picked up and rolled over by the tornado. In Johnson County twenty miles of power lines and poles were damaged, fifteen roads were closed due to debris and one bridge was destroyed. Six residences were destroyed, eight more sustained minor the major damage, and three farms were affected. Seventeen people were treated and released for injuries in Johnson County. In Cedar County moderate to heavy damage was reported to five different properties as the tornado destroyed a home, barns, grain bins, machine and hog sheds, a hog nursery and a chicken coop. Two persons near Downey suffered injuries requiring stitches when bricks and debris fell upon them while they were taking shelter in their basement. | |||||||||||
| 49.9 | 1998-06-18 | 2 | 42°29'N / 92°03'W | 42°36'N / 91°38'W | 20.00 Miles | 25 Yards | 0 | 0 | 800K | 0 | Buchanan |
| Brief Description: A farm south of Jesup sustained massive damage from a tornado and severe thunderstorm winds which passed across Buchanan County. Most of the out buildings were damaged or destroyed and every tree on the farm was lost. A double car garage was blown into a cornfield, the tool shed was pushed off it's foundation, gas barrels were gone, and a Morton Building was destroyed. There was also serious damage to the the barn roof. In the home glass was driven into the woodwork. Closet doors and the access door to the attic were blown off, and attic insulation was driven down into the house. At another farm three grain wagons were lifted off the ground. One landed vertically across the road in a ditch and another landed in a ditch near the farmhouse. Shingles and shutters were blown off this house, and 60 feet of roof was torn off the cattle shed. At the Cedar Crest and St Athansius Cemetaries east of Jesup 46 trees were destroyed. | |||||||||||
* The information on this page is based on the global volcano database, the U.S. earthquake database of 1638-1985, and the U.S. Tornado and Weather Extremes database of 1950-2010.