Quitman, MO Natural Disasters and Weather Extremes
Hot Rankings
The chance of earthquake damage in Quitman is lower than Missouri average and is much lower than the national average. The risk of tornado damage in Quitman is higher than Missouri average and is much higher than the national average.
Earthquake Index, #691
| Quitman, MO | 0.01 |
| Missouri | 0.70 |
| 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
| Quitman, MO | 0.0000 |
| Missouri | 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, #418
| Quitman, MO | 232.47 |
| Missouri | 214.01 |
| 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 3,365 other weather extremes events within 50 miles of Quitman, MO 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: | 18 | Cold: | 47 | Dense Fog: | 8 | Drought: | 13 |
| Dust Storm: | 0 | Flood: | 298 | Hail: | 1,436 | Heat: | 26 | Heavy Snow: | 41 |
| High Surf: | 0 | Hurricane: | 0 | Ice Storm: | 31 | Landslide: | 0 | Strong Wind: | 45 |
| Thunderstorm Winds: | 1,170 | Tropical Storm: | 0 | Wildfire: | 0 | Winter Storm: | 111 | Winter Weather: | 42 |
| Other: | 79 | ||||||||
Volcanos Nearby
No volcano is found in or near Quitman, MO.
Historical Earthquake Events
No historical earthquake events that had recorded magnitudes of 3.5 or above found in or near Quitman, MO.
No historical earthquake events found in or near Quitman, MO.
Historical Tornado Events
A total of 88 historical tornado events that had recorded magnitude of 2 or above found in or near Quitman, MO.
| Distance (miles) | Date | Magnitude | Start Lat/Log | End Lat/Log | Length | Width | Fatalities | Injuries | Property Damage | Crop Damage | Affected County |
| 4.7 | 1954-05-31 | 2 | 40°26'N / 95°09'W | 40°27'N / 95°01'W | 6.80 Miles | 440 Yards | 0 | 0 | 25K | 0 | Morgan |
| 7.3 | 1966-05-23 | 2 | 40°27'N / 95°13'W | 40°28'N / 95°06'W | 5.70 Miles | 50 Yards | 0 | 0 | 25K | 0 | Atchison |
| 9.7 | 1964-04-12 | 2 | 40°17'N / 94°59'W | 40°23'N / 94°49'W | 10.80 Miles | 80 Yards | 0 | 0 | 2.5M | 0 | Nodaway |
| 10.5 | 1979-03-29 | 4 | 40°29'N / 95°09'W | 40°34'N / 95°02'W | 8.00 Miles | 500 Yards | 0 | 4 | 0K | 0 | Nodaway |
| 11.0 | 1959-05-10 | 2 | 40°31'N / 95°10'W | 0.20 Mile | 17 Yards | 0 | 0 | 25K | 0 | Nodaway | |
| 11.1 | 1954-05-31 | 2 | 40°23'N / 95°25'W | 40°26'N / 95°09'W | 14.20 Miles | 440 Yards | 0 | 0 | 25K | 0 | Atchison |
| 12.9 | 1955-04-23 | 2 | 40°26'N / 95°18'W | 40°28'N / 95°18'W | 2.30 Miles | 100 Yards | 0 | 0 | 25K | 0 | Atchison |
| 14.1 | 1952-11-16 | 3 | 40°27'N / 95°04'W | 40°34'N / 94°41'W | 21.60 Miles | 600 Yards | 0 | 2 | 25K | 0 | Nodaway |
| 18.7 | 1979-03-29 | 4 | 40°34'N / 95°02'W | 40°42'N / 94°55'W | 10.80 Miles | 500 Yards | 0 | 16 | 2.5M | 0 | Page |
| 19.1 | 1954-04-05 | 3 | 40°36'N / 95°14'W | 40°40'N / 95°10'W | 5.20 Miles | 667 Yards | 0 | 0 | 0K | 0 | Page |
| 19.3 | 1954-04-05 | 4 | 40°35'N / 95°19'W | 40°37'N / 95°16'W | 3.30 Miles | 700 Yards | 0 | 2 | 25K | 0 | Page |
| 19.7 | 1955-04-23 | 2 | 40°38'N / 95°14'W | 1.50 Miles | 30 Yards | 0 | 0 | 25K | 0 | Page | |
| 19.8 | 1979-08-28 | 3 | 40°41'N / 95°22'W | 40°32'N / 95°13'W | 12.80 Miles | 533 Yards | 0 | 0 | 3K | 0 | Page |
| 19.8 | 2004-08-26 | 2 | 40°40'N / 95°12'W | 40°39'N / 95°02'W | 7.00 Miles | 1200 Yards | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Page |
| Brief Description: This tornado first touched down around 2 miles east of Coin and tracked 7 miles before lifting just northwest of Shambaugh. The tornado reached it's maximum intensity of f2 north of College Springs where a farmstead sustained serious damage. The roof of a house at this farmstead was removed and siding was damaged, a hay barn was flattened, grain bins were crushed and the roof of a silo and other nearby outbuildings were destroyed. Other farmsteads received damage to outbuildings and the crop and tree damage path at times widened to 3/4 of a mile. | |||||||||||
| 19.9 | 1954-04-05 | 4 | 40°33'N / 95°23'W | 40°35'N / 95°20'W | 3.00 Miles | 900 Yards | 0 | 0 | 250K | 0 | Atchison |
| 21.9 | 1975-06-18 | 2 | 40°40'N / 95°14'W | 0 | 0 | 25K | 0 | Page | |||
| 24.4 | 1958-10-08 | 3 | 40°25'N / 94°38'W | 40°25'N / 94°36'W | 0 | 0 | 250K | 0 | Nodaway | ||
| 24.8 | 1964-09-22 | 2 | 40°39'N / 95°14'W | 40°48'N / 95°07'W | 11.80 Miles | 300 Yards | 0 | 0 | 250K | 0 | Page |
| 26.4 | 1981-04-11 | 2 | 40°41'N / 94°45'W | 40°43'N / 94°53'W | 6.90 Miles | 50 Yards | 0 | 2 | 2.5M | 0 | Taylor |
| 26.4 | 1964-04-12 | 4 | 40°40'N / 95°14'W | 40°50'N / 95°06'W | 13.10 Miles | 400 Yards | 1 | 28 | 2.5M | 0 | Page |
| 26.9 | 2006-03-30 | 2 | 39°59'N / 94°55'W | 40°02'N / 94°53'W | 5.00 Miles | 800 Yards | 0 | 8 | 800K | 0 | Andrew |
| Brief Description: Tornado touched down southeast of Fillmore and traveled northeast 5 miles before dissipating around Highway 71 and A Highway. Three homes were nearly or completely destroyed and 8 had minor to moderate damage. Eight persons were injured. | |||||||||||
| 27.1 | 1954-04-05 | 2 | 40°40'N / 94°53'W | 40°43'N / 94°40'W | 11.50 Miles | 333 Yards | 0 | 0 | 0K | 0 | Taylor |
| 27.4 | 2008-06-05 | 2 | 40°04'N / 95°31'W | 40°12'N / 95°28'W | 9.00 Miles | 880 Yards | 0 | 0 | 0K | 0K | Richardson |
| Brief Description: EVENT NARRATIVE: This tornado started approximately 4 miles east of Falls City and traveled north northeast. Soon after the initial touchdown there was damage to the roof of a home and a church. The tornado then produced tree damage before blowing the roof off of a home and destroying several sheds and barns at another farmstead. Other tree, house, outbuilding and power pole damage was observed along its path before it crossed the Missouri River into Holt county Missouri. The damage path reached a half mile wide where high tension power poles were snapped northeast of Falls City. EPISODE NARRATIVE: A warm front and low pressure system over northern Kansas lifted northeast into southeast Nebraska and southwest Iowa as an unseasonably strong upper level low pressure system lifted from the Rockies into the northern plains. The front and upper level disturbance caused fast moving thunderstorms, a few severe, to develop during the late morning hours in northeast Nebraska. After a brief lull in the activity through early afternoon, additional thunderstorms developed over eastern Nebraska. The storms developed along 2 lines, one extended north of Columbus while the other stretched from southeast Nebraska into southwest Iowa. Several of the storms turned severe, including one supercell that produced an EF2 tornado in extreme southeast Nebraska. Besides the severe weather, a few of the thunderstorms produced additional areas of heavy rain that fell on saturated soils and caused some already high rivers to flood. | |||||||||||
| 27.8 | 1969-06-29 | 2 | 40°15'N / 94°37'W | 40°17'N / 94°31'W | 5.10 Miles | 100 Yards | 0 | 0 | 250K | 0 | Nodaway |
| 28.5 | 1964-06-22 | 4 | 40°42'N / 95°27'W | 40°46'N / 95°14'W | 11.90 Miles | 400 Yards | 0 | 0 | 250K | 0 | Fremont |
| 28.7 | 1984-06-07 | 3 | 40°44'N / 95°02'W | 40°50'N / 94°57'W | 7.00 Miles | 100 Yards | 0 | 3 | 2.5M | 0 | Page |
| 28.9 | 1964-06-19 | 3 | 40°44'N / 95°03'W | 40°50'N / 94°53'W | 10.60 Miles | 200 Yards | 0 | 1 | 250K | 0 | Page |
| 29.3 | 1994-06-25 | 2 | 40°03'N / 94°43'W | 0.80 Mile | 100 Yards | 1 | 2 | 5.0M | 0 | Andrew | |
| Brief Description: A tornado touched down southeast of Whitesville destroying 12 mobile homes. A 58-year old woman was killed and her husband injured in one of the mobile homes, which had been tied down. Another occupant sustained minor injuries after fleeing the home to seek shelter in a nearby pickup truck. The storm also damaged a workshop and buildings on a nearby farm with total damage estimates around $950,000. (F58M) | |||||||||||
| 29.5 | 1964-06-19 | 3 | 40°43'N / 95°21'W | 40°50'N / 95°11'W | 11.50 Miles | 350 Yards | 0 | 2 | 2.5M | 0 | Page |
| 29.8 | 1971-05-05 | 2 | 40°47'N / 94°54'W | 0 | 1 | 25K | 0 | Taylor | |||
| 30.1 | 1968-04-16 | 2 | 40°40'N / 95°30'W | 0.50 Mile | 33 Yards | 0 | 0 | 3K | 0 | Fremont | |
| 30.4 | 1979-03-29 | 3 | 40°35'N / 94°57'W | 40°54'N / 94°34'W | 29.60 Miles | 500 Yards | 0 | 1 | 2.5M | 0 | Taylor |
| 30.8 | 1968-04-16 | 2 | 40°43'N / 95°27'W | 2.00 Miles | 200 Yards | 0 | 0 | 25K | 0 | Fremont | |
| 31.8 | 1955-04-23 | 2 | 40°31'N / 94°32'W | 40°33'N / 94°29'W | 3.00 Miles | 100 Yards | 0 | 1 | 25K | 0 | Worth |
| 32.7 | 2004-08-26 | 2 | 40°39'N / 95°36'W | 40°40'N / 95°33'W | 3.00 Miles | 880 Yards | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Fremont |
| Brief Description: A tornado that eventually reached f2 in strength first touched down 2.5 miles southwest of Riverton. The tornado reached it's maximum intensity and maximum damage width of 1/2 mile when it destroyed a home on 270th street. The tornado also caused signifcant damage to another house, several vehicles, other farm outbuildings, crops and trees before lifting 1 mile southeast of Riverton. | |||||||||||
| 33.2 | 1964-04-20 | 2 | 40°45'N / 95°28'W | 40°47'N / 95°25'W | 2.70 Miles | 300 Yards | 0 | 0 | 25K | 0 | Fremont |
| 33.5 | 1984-04-26 | 2 | 40°12'N / 94°33'W | 40°14'N / 94°24'W | 7.00 Miles | 100 Yards | 0 | 0 | 250K | 0 | Gentry |
| 34.6 | 1965-07-08 | 2 | 40°32'N / 95°42'W | 0 | 0 | 3K | 0 | Fremont | |||
| 34.9 | 1984-06-07 | 3 | 40°50'N / 94°57'W | 40°53'N / 94°50'W | 7.00 Miles | 100 Yards | 0 | 0 | 2.5M | 0 | Taylor |
| 34.9 | 1971-05-05 | 3 | 40°45'N / 94°38'W | 2.00 Miles | 400 Yards | 0 | 12 | 250K | 0 | Taylor | |
| 35.1 | 1950-05-08 | 2 | 40°23'N / 95°48'W | 40°17'N / 95°41'W | 8.80 Miles | 467 Yards | 0 | 1 | 25K | 0 | Nemaha |
| 35.2 | 1983-05-01 | 2 | 40°38'N / 95°40'W | 40°42'N / 95°35'W | 7.00 Miles | 20 Yards | 0 | 3 | 2.5M | 0 | Fremont |
| 35.4 | 1958-10-10 | 3 | 40°25'N / 94°36'W | 40°27'N / 94°13'W | 20.10 Miles | 300 Yards | 2 | 7 | 250K | 0 | Worth |
| 35.9 | 1999-04-08 | 2 | 40°51'N / 94°54'W | 40°54'N / 94°54'W | 3.00 Miles | 500 Yards | 0 | 0 | 500K | 0 | Taylor |
| Brief Description: As mentioned in the narrative above, an intense low pressure formed to the southwest of Iowa. The low tracked northeast and lifted into eastern Nebraska. Ahead of the low, a strong low level jet of around 60 knots continued through the day. A nearly stationary frontal boundary extended east from the low. It lifted into southeast Nebraska during the day, but made little progress into southern Iowa. Lines of thunderstorms formed along the boundary through the day and lifted north rapidly. These storms were elevated in nature and as a result produced most of their severe weather in the form of hail. As the day unfolded, a sharp dry line was clearly evident on the satellite as early as 1600 UTC across Kansas. This line raced east during the day. By afternoon, a speed max had rotated around the upper low to the southwest with wind speeds measured by the Lathrop wind profiler at 100 knots at 500 mb by mid afternoon. Jet stream winds were in excess of 120 knots at the same time. Combined with the dynamic situation mentioned above, considerable moisture convergence took place near the triple point between the warm front and the dry line. Surface dew points pooled into to the mid 60s to even a few 70 degree F. dew point readings over northwest Missouri, southeast Nebraska, and southwest Iowa. Meanwhile, dew points fell into the upper 20s over northeast Kansas and south central Nebraska behind the dry line, with teens over central and south central Kansas. Thunderstorms erupted along the dry line by mid day and advanced east through the afternoon. Low level helicity values topped out between 500 and 600 (m/s)**2 just before the first tornadoes formed. Most of the storms in the warm sector became tornadic quickly. The northern limit of the tornado tracks extended about 10 miles or so north of the warm front. Tracks became intermittent very quickly as soon as the storms crossed the surface warm front due to the layer of very cold air just north of the front. Surface temperatures on the cold side of the front were only in the upper 40s to mid 50s. The entire day was very active. Initially, warm air advection thunderstorms produced hail at many locations of central and northern Iowa. Most of is was just below severe levels however. The activity that developed during the afternoon was a combination of warm air advection and the approach of the dryline. At the beginning of the event, the main weather feature was in the form of hail. There were numerous reports of hail three quarters to one and three quarters inch in diameter. The largest hail fell in Guthrie and Dallas Counties with reports of golf ball size hail. One of the storms in the initial wave of afternoon activity became stronger as it moved into southern Story County. Initially, high winds of 60 MPH or more swept through Sheldahl area of Boone County. Greene County was also affected by high winds from the storms. A tornado dropped out of the storm as it moved into the Slater area and was on the ground for about 2 miles. Initial estimates showed 44 homes and businesses damaged in Story County, one was destroyed with major damage to another. Thirty six homes and four businesses were damaged in the town of Slater. Two people were injured during the passage of the tornado. One of the injuries involved a 70 year old man who was picked up by the tornadoes winds and thrown about 10 feet before he latched on to something. His shoulder was dislocated and he required 6 stitches due to his injuries in his hand. High winds northeast of Slater knocked several cars of a Burlington Northern freight train off the tracks after they were blown more than one quarter mile down the track. It was not possible to determine of the cars were knocked off by the tornado or high winds however. This band of storms continue to race and develop northeast through the afternoon. Damage became more sporadic, however high winds occurred as far northeast as Hardin County, with 70 MPH winds reported near New Providence. Hail reports came in from as far northeast as Grundy and Black Hawk Counties, though it was only three quarters of an inch in diameter. Attention then shifted to the tornadic storms that formed near the dry line. During the afternoon, six more tornadoes touched down in Iowa, several of which were long track tornadoes. The first touched down in Taylor County and tracked through Adams, Cass, and Adair Counties. This tornado had was an F4 intensity tornado in parts of Adair and Adams Counties. Damage was extensive with $1,000,000 damage reported in both Adams and Adair Counties. Entire farmsteads were swept clean by the tornado. At one time this tornado was a mile wide wedge with a damage path nearly two miles wide due to the circulation around the tornado. Eyewitness reports indicated that the tornado split into two distinct tornadoes at times, similar to what occurred with the intense F4 tornado in Adair County of 27 May 1995. One of the farmsteads hit near Nodaway was levelled. Reports indicated that a check was blown from the house nearly 100 miles and was found in the town of Jefferson in Greene County. Other checks and papers were found strewn along the path, stretching from Jefferson all the way back to northwest Taylor County. In Adair County, one account indicated pieces of sheet metal from one farm was lifted and deposited six miles away from the farm. Two people were injured by this tornado, one in Adams County with the other in Adair County. One of the injuries Adair County was serious as a man suffered a broken back when the tornado lifted his semi-tractortrailer truck from the Interstate and threw it into a nearby field. The other injuries from this tornado were minor enough that the people were taken to the hospital, treated, and released. There was one account of a horse being picked up by the tornado. It was lifted into the air and thrown through a stand of pine trees 40 feet high. The horse suffered serious injuries and required significant medical attention do to lacerations. The horse amazingly did survive against all odds, though was said would likely lose sight in one eye. The next tornado touched down in Union County and tracked across Madison and Dallas Counties. This tornado had an F4 strength in Union and decreased to a strong F2 in Madison Counties before intensifying again to near F3 strength as it headed into Dallas County. Damage in Union County was around $2,000,000, and around $350,000 in Madison County. There was one person injured by this tornado in Union County. In an amazing account, the Union County Sheriff reported watching as the tornado lifted the car in front of him 35 feet in the air and throwing it 250 feet. The driver was inside during this time and came out of the situation uninjured. Five coal cars were knocked off the tracks in Union County by the tornado as well. This tornado also had a double structure. From eye witness accounts, which also can be shown on Doppler radar imagery, suggest a small rope like tornado passed through the Twelve Mile Lake area shortly before the passage of the main tornado. The next tornado was a weak tornado which touched down about 4 miles west of downtown Des Moines. The tornado did little damage, but did affect one house and several trees. The tornado was seen by a local television sky camera. A short time later, an F2 tornado touched down in Warren County and tracked into southeast Polk County. The track was over rural areas and damage from it was relatively minor. A more significant F3 tornado tracked from northern Lucas County, and weakened to an F2 as it moved across Warren, part of marion, and into Jasper County. One house was destroyed in Lucas County with the four people inside sustaining minor injuries. Once again, this tornado tracked across mostly rural areas, though it did hit a business and two homes in Jasper County and did $1,000,000 in damage. One person was injured in Jasper County. The last tornado touched down in Davis County at Bloomfield and tracked northeast into Wapello County with a maximum strength of F3. Damage in Davis County was over $500,000 as 64 homes and businesses were damaged in the Bloomfield area. To the northeast, the area of the tornado track was mostly rural and damage was limited to outbuildings for the most part. One farmstead reported severe damage near Floris in Davis County. The house was nearly levelled and several outbuildings were completely destroyed. Parts of the house and outbuildings were found as far as 5 miles away from the farmstead. As the storms moved north, high winds were produced over Story County east of Story City. High winds toppled a tractor semi-trailer truck east of Story City on Interstate 35, injuring the driver. Two cars and a truck were also blown off Interstate 35 in Hamilton County. Four people were injured. Two were taken to the hospital, treated, and released. Two were listed in serious condition, one with a neck fracture, the other with a shoulder fracture. The later incident appeared to be from the rear flank downdraft behind the storm and not the initial gust front. From the preliminary data, 178 homes and business were damaged or destroyed by the tornadic storms as well as countless outbuildings. There were several reports of livestock loss as well. It is truly amazing that there was no loss of life during this event and even more amazing is the fact that the injuries that did occur were all minor. Twenty counties in Iowa experienced serious damage from the storms of the day. Iowa Governor Vilsack declared several counties in Iowa disaster areas. These included Taylor, Union, Adams, and Adair Counties. High winds accompanied the storms as the moved through Appanoose County. A local gas station recorded an 81 MPH wind gust as the storms cut a half mile wide swath of destruction west of Moravia. There were numerous reports of cattle killed by the storms. Some were killed by the tornadoes and flying debris, others by lightning. Reports in Adair County, northwest of Fontanelle indicated about 25 head of cattle were struck by lightning shortly before a tornado moved through that area. As the area of storms that produced the high winds north of Ames in central Iowa moved north, they lost their punch. A few of the storms did remain quite strong however. As the area of thunderstorms moved through Cerro Gordo County, high winds blew down a 60 foot corn crib and did some other damage on a farm near Rockwell. | |||||||||||
| 36.1 | 1979-08-28 | 3 | 40°52'N / 95°40'W | 40°41'N / 95°22'W | 19.90 Miles | 533 Yards | 2 | 14 | 2.5M | 0 | Fremont |
| 36.4 | 1964-04-12 | 2 | 40°54'N / 95°03'W | 2.00 Miles | 150 Yards | 0 | 0 | 25K | 0 | Montgomery | |
| 37.1 | 2004-05-24 | 2 | 40°12'N / 94°33'W | 40°15'N / 94°15'W | 17.00 Miles | 250 Yards | 0 | 1 | 10.0M | 0 | Gentry |
| Brief Description: This F2 tornado was consistently on the ground from one mile south of Stanberry east-northeast through Albany. Muliple vortices were noticed on chaser video. Extensive damage was observed in Albany. Three homes were destroyed. There were 34 buildings with major damage and 70 buildings had minor damage. | |||||||||||
| 37.8 | 1964-06-22 | 3 | 40°45'N / 95°36'W | 40°50'N / 95°29'W | 8.00 Miles | 400 Yards | 0 | 0 | 250K | 0 | Fremont |
| 38.3 | 1966-10-14 | 2 | 40°47'N / 94°35'W | 1.50 Miles | 100 Yards | 0 | 0 | 25K | 0 | Taylor | |
| 38.5 | 1956-04-02 | 2 | 40°22'N / 95°50'W | 40°24'N / 95°47'W | 2.30 Miles | 100 Yards | 0 | 0 | 3K | 0 | Nemaha |
| 38.7 | 1959-05-10 | 2 | 40°56'N / 95°03'W | 1.00 Mile | 200 Yards | 0 | 0 | 3K | 0 | Montgomery | |
| 39.4 | 1966-10-14 | 2 | 40°50'N / 94°38'W | 0 | 0 | 0K | 0 | Taylor | |||
| 39.6 | 1973-04-19 | 2 | 39°53'N / 95°28'W | 0.20 Mile | 100 Yards | 0 | 0 | 0K | 0 | Brown | |
| 39.6 | 1960-04-16 | 3 | 40°18'N / 94°26'W | 40°22'N / 94°13'W | 11.90 Miles | 300 Yards | 0 | 0 | 25K | 0 | Benton |
| 39.7 | 1959-05-26 | 2 | 40°36'N / 95°38'W | 40°49'N / 95°45'W | 15.90 Miles | 400 Yards | 0 | 0 | 25K | 0 | Fremont |
| 39.8 | 1964-04-20 | 2 | 40°54'N / 95°23'W | 0 | 1 | 250K | 0 | Montgomery | |||
| 39.8 | 1968-04-16 | 2 | 40°23'N / 95°50'W | 1.20 Miles | 33 Yards | 0 | 0 | 25K | 0 | Nemaha | |
| 40.0 | 1961-05-07 | 2 | 39°58'N / 95°37'W | 0 | 0 | 25K | 0 | Brown | |||
| 40.0 | 2001-04-11 | 2 | 40°24'N / 94°22'W | 40°36'N / 94°18'W | 14.00 Miles | 100 Yards | 0 | 0 | 100K | 0 | Worth |
| Brief Description: The tornado that initially touched down in Gentry county, crossed into Worth county at 1032 am, 2 miles west of Denver. It crossed into Iowa 8 miles north of Allendale at 1040 am. One home was destroyed along with several out buildings. | |||||||||||
| 40.9 | 1981-04-03 | 2 | 39°47'N / 95°00'W | 1.80 Miles | 33 Yards | 0 | 0 | 250K | 0 | Doniphan | |
| 41.2 | 1963-04-28 | 3 | 40°23'N / 95°53'W | 40°27'N / 95°50'W | 4.90 Miles | 300 Yards | 1 | 8 | 25K | 0 | Nemaha |
| 41.6 | 1984-06-07 | 3 | 40°53'N / 94°50'W | 40°59'N / 94°44'W | 11.00 Miles | 100 Yards | 0 | 0 | 2.5M | 0 | Adams |
| 41.8 | 1973-04-19 | 2 | 40°05'N / 94°24'W | 40°09'N / 94°19'W | 5.90 Miles | 50 Yards | 0 | 0 | 3K | 0 | Gentry |
| 42.0 | 1984-06-07 | 2 | 39°49'N / 95°43'W | 39°59'N / 95°26'W | 18.00 Miles | 300 Yards | 0 | 5 | 2.5M | 0 | Brown |
| 42.6 | 1990-06-13 | 2 | 40°52'N / 95°39'W | 40°53'N / 95°27'W | 10.50 Miles | 67 Yards | 0 | 0 | 250K | 0 | Fremont |
| 43.0 | 1969-07-26 | 2 | 39°47'N / 94°49'W | 0.10 Mile | 20 Yards | 0 | 0 | 250K | 0 | Buchanan | |
| 43.0 | 1958-07-14 | 3 | 40°54'N / 94°35'W | 40°50'N / 94°34'W | 3.60 Miles | 100 Yards | 0 | 0 | 250K | 0 | Taylor |
| 43.5 | 1973-04-19 | 2 | 40°09'N / 94°19'W | 40°10'N / 94°17'W | 0 | 0 | 3K | 0 | Gentry | ||
| 43.8 | 1973-06-16 | 2 | 39°46'N / 94°50'W | 6.00 Miles | 33 Yards | 0 | 14 | 2.5M | 0 | Buchanan | |
| 44.5 | 1960-06-29 | 2 | 39°45'N / 94°51'W | 39°54'N / 94°25'W | 25.10 Miles | 100 Yards | 0 | 0 | 25K | 0 | Buchanan |
| 45.4 | 1955-05-26 | 2 | 39°41'N / 94°59'W | 39°46'N / 94°53'W | 7.80 Miles | 220 Yards | 0 | 1 | 25K | 0 | Doniphan |
| 45.5 | 1984-04-26 | 3 | 39°38'N / 95°13'W | 39°48'N / 95°05'W | 15.00 Miles | 1200 Yards | 0 | 0 | 25.0M | 0 | Doniphan |
| 45.8 | 1959-05-18 | 2 | 40°59'N / 94°44'W | 1.00 Mile | 200 Yards | 0 | 0 | 250K | 0 | Adams | |
| 45.8 | 1950-05-08 | 2 | 41°02'N / 95°16'W | 41°01'N / 95°13'W | 0 | 0 | 0K | 0 | Montgomery | ||
| 46.1 | 1999-04-08 | 4 | 40°53'N / 94°53'W | 41°09'N / 94°48'W | 18.00 Miles | 1000 Yards | 0 | 1 | 1.0M | 0 | Adams |
| Brief Description: As mentioned in the narrative above, an intense low pressure formed to the southwest of Iowa. The low tracked northeast and lifted into eastern Nebraska. Ahead of the low, a strong low level jet of around 60 knots continued through the day. A nearly stationary frontal boundary extended east from the low. It lifted into southeast Nebraska during the day, but made little progress into southern Iowa. Lines of thunderstorms formed along the boundary through the day and lifted north rapidly. These storms were elevated in nature and as a result produced most of their severe weather in the form of hail. As the day unfolded, a sharp dry line was clearly evident on the satellite as early as 1600 UTC across Kansas. This line raced east during the day. By afternoon, a speed max had rotated around the upper low to the southwest with wind speeds measured by the Lathrop wind profiler at 100 knots at 500 mb by mid afternoon. Jet stream winds were in excess of 120 knots at the same time. Combined with the dynamic situation mentioned above, considerable moisture convergence took place near the triple point between the warm front and the dry line. Surface dew points pooled into to the mid 60s to even a few 70 degree F. dew point readings over northwest Missouri, southeast Nebraska, and southwest Iowa. Meanwhile, dew points fell into the upper 20s over northeast Kansas and south central Nebraska behind the dry line, with teens over central and south central Kansas. Thunderstorms erupted along the dry line by mid day and advanced east through the afternoon. Low level helicity values topped out between 500 and 600 (m/s)**2 just before the first tornadoes formed. Most of the storms in the warm sector became tornadic quickly. The northern limit of the tornado tracks extended about 10 miles or so north of the warm front. Tracks became intermittent very quickly as soon as the storms crossed the surface warm front due to the layer of very cold air just north of the front. Surface temperatures on the cold side of the front were only in the upper 40s to mid 50s. The entire day was very active. Initially, warm air advection thunderstorms produced hail at many locations of central and northern Iowa. Most of is was just below severe levels however. The activity that developed during the afternoon was a combination of warm air advection and the approach of the dryline. At the beginning of the event, the main weather feature was in the form of hail. There were numerous reports of hail three quarters to one and three quarters inch in diameter. The largest hail fell in Guthrie and Dallas Counties with reports of golf ball size hail. One of the storms in the initial wave of afternoon activity became stronger as it moved into southern Story County. Initially, high winds of 60 MPH or more swept through Sheldahl area of Boone County. Greene County was also affected by high winds from the storms. A tornado dropped out of the storm as it moved into the Slater area and was on the ground for about 2 miles. Initial estimates showed 44 homes and businesses damaged in Story County, one was destroyed with major damage to another. Thirty six homes and four businesses were damaged in the town of Slater. Two people were injured during the passage of the tornado. One of the injuries involved a 70 year old man who was picked up by the tornadoes winds and thrown about 10 feet before he latched on to something. His shoulder was dislocated and he required 6 stitches due to his injuries in his hand. High winds northeast of Slater knocked several cars of a Burlington Northern freight train off the tracks after they were blown more than one quarter mile down the track. It was not possible to determine of the cars were knocked off by the tornado or high winds however. This band of storms continue to race and develop northeast through the afternoon. Damage became more sporadic, however high winds occurred as far northeast as Hardin County, with 70 MPH winds reported near New Providence. Hail reports came in from as far northeast as Grundy and Black Hawk Counties, though it was only three quarters of an inch in diameter. Attention then shifted to the tornadic storms that formed near the dry line. During the afternoon, six more tornadoes touched down in Iowa, several of which were long track tornadoes. The first touched down in Taylor County and tracked through Adams, Cass, and Adair Counties. This tornado had was an F4 intensity tornado in parts of Adair and Adams Counties. Damage was extensive with $1,000,000 damage reported in both Adams and Adair Counties. Entire farmsteads were swept clean by the tornado. At one time this tornado was a mile wide wedge with a damage path nearly two miles wide due to the circulation around the tornado. Eyewitness reports indicated that the tornado split into two distinct tornadoes at times, similar to what occurred with the intense F4 tornado in Adair County of 27 May 1995. One of the farmsteads hit near Nodaway was levelled. Reports indicated that a check was blown from the house nearly 100 miles and was found in the town of Jefferson in Greene County. Other checks and papers were found strewn along the path, stretching from Jefferson all the way back to northwest Taylor County. In Adair County, one account indicated pieces of sheet metal from one farm was lifted and deposited six miles away from the farm. Two people were injured by this tornado, one in Adams County with the other in Adair County. One of the injuries Adair County was serious as a man suffered a broken back when the tornado lifted his semi-tractortrailer truck from the Interstate and threw it into a nearby field. The other injuries from this tornado were minor enough that the people were taken to the hospital, treated, and released. There was one account of a horse being picked up by the tornado. It was lifted into the air and thrown through a stand of pine trees 40 feet high. The horse suffered serious injuries and required significant medical attention do to lacerations. The horse amazingly did survive against all odds, though was said would likely lose sight in one eye. The next tornado touched down in Union County and tracked across Madison and Dallas Counties. This tornado had an F4 strength in Union and decreased to a strong F2 in Madison Counties before intensifying again to near F3 strength as it headed into Dallas County. Damage in Union County was around $2,000,000, and around $350,000 in Madison County. There was one person injured by this tornado in Union County. In an amazing account, the Union County Sheriff reported watching as the tornado lifted the car in front of him 35 feet in the air and throwing it 250 feet. The driver was inside during this time and came out of the situation uninjured. Five coal cars were knocked off the tracks in Union County by the tornado as well. This tornado also had a double structure. From eye witness accounts, which also can be shown on Doppler radar imagery, suggest a small rope like tornado passed through the Twelve Mile Lake area shortly before the passage of the main tornado. The next tornado was a weak tornado which touched down about 4 miles west of downtown Des Moines. The tornado did little damage, but did affect one house and several trees. The tornado was seen by a local television sky camera. A short time later, an F2 tornado touched down in Warren County and tracked into southeast Polk County. The track was over rural areas and damage from it was relatively minor. A more significant F3 tornado tracked from northern Lucas County, and weakened to an F2 as it moved across Warren, part of marion, and into Jasper County. One house was destroyed in Lucas County with the four people inside sustaining minor injuries. Once again, this tornado tracked across mostly rural areas, though it did hit a business and two homes in Jasper County and did $1,000,000 in damage. One person was injured in Jasper County. The last tornado touched down in Davis County at Bloomfield and tracked northeast into Wapello County with a maximum strength of F3. Damage in Davis County was over $500,000 as 64 homes and businesses were damaged in the Bloomfield area. To the northeast, the area of the tornado track was mostly rural and damage was limited to outbuildings for the most part. One farmstead reported severe damage near Floris in Davis County. The house was nearly levelled and several outbuildings were completely destroyed. Parts of the house and outbuildings were found as far as 5 miles away from the farmstead. As the storms moved north, high winds were produced over Story County east of Story City. High winds toppled a tractor semi-trailer truck east of Story City on Interstate 35, injuring the driver. Two cars and a truck were also blown off Interstate 35 in Hamilton County. Four people were injured. Two were taken to the hospital, treated, and released. Two were listed in serious condition, one with a neck fracture, the other with a shoulder fracture. The later incident appeared to be from the rear flank downdraft behind the storm and not the initial gust front. From the preliminary data, 178 homes and business were damaged or destroyed by the tornadic storms as well as countless outbuildings. There were several reports of livestock loss as well. It is truly amazing that there was no loss of life during this event and even more amazing is the fact that the injuries that did occur were all minor. Twenty counties in Iowa experienced serious damage from the storms of the day. Iowa Governor Vilsack declared several counties in Iowa disaster areas. These included Taylor, Union, Adams, and Adair Counties. High winds accompanied the storms as the moved through Appanoose County. A local gas station recorded an 81 MPH wind gust as the storms cut a half mile wide swath of destruction west of Moravia. There were numerous reports of cattle killed by the storms. Some were killed by the tornadoes and flying debris, others by lightning. Reports in Adair County, northwest of Fontanelle indicated about 25 head of cattle were struck by lightning shortly before a tornado moved through that area. As the area of storms that produced the high winds north of Ames in central Iowa moved north, they lost their punch. A few of the storms did remain quite strong however. As the area of thunderstorms moved through Cerro Gordo County, high winds blew down a 60 foot corn crib and did some other damage on a farm near Rockwell. | |||||||||||
| 46.7 | 1989-05-24 | 4 | 40°59'N / 94°43'W | 40°54'N / 94°28'W | 12.00 Miles | 1760 Yards | 0 | 0 | 25.0M | 0 | Adams |
| 46.8 | 2005-06-04 | 2 | 39°46'N / 95°32'W | 39°47'N / 95°27'W | 3.00 Miles | 100 Yards | 0 | 0 | 400K | 0 | Brown |
| Brief Description: Three farmsteads or businesses sustained damage with a total of 15 buildings damaged or destroyed. Several cars were rolled and a combine was moved a considerable distance. A salvage yard was near one of the houses damaged by the tornado. A hubcap from the salvage yard had become airborne and was impaled in the sheet rock in the living room of the house. | |||||||||||
| 47.2 | 1955-04-23 | 3 | 40°43'N / 94°21'W | 40°48'N / 94°19'W | 5.40 Miles | 440 Yards | 0 | 0 | 25K | 0 | Ringgold |
| 47.3 | 1958-10-08 | 3 | 40°27'N / 94°13'W | 40°27'N / 94°09'W | 3.00 Miles | 300 Yards | 0 | 0 | 250K | 0 | Harrison |
| 47.7 | 1959-05-18 | 2 | 39°44'N / 95°25'W | 1.00 Mile | 880 Yards | 0 | 0 | 3K | 0 | Brown | |
| 47.9 | 1959-05-18 | 3 | 39°49'N / 95°37'W | 0.50 Mile | 100 Yards | 0 | 0 | 25K | 0 | Brown | |
| 48.3 | 1989-05-24 | 4 | 40°54'N / 94°28'W | 40°53'N / 94°27'W | 2.00 Miles | 300 Yards | 0 | 0 | 25.0M | 0 | Union |
| 48.5 | 1959-05-18 | 3 | 39°44'N / 95°20'W | 39°39'N / 95°16'W | 6.50 Miles | 400 Yards | 0 | 0 | 250K | 0 | Doniphan |
| 48.9 | 1971-05-05 | 2 | 40°49'N / 94°21'W | 1.00 Mile | 200 Yards | 0 | 0 | 25K | 0 | Ringgold | |
| 49.0 | 1979-08-28 | 3 | 40°55'N / 95°46'W | 40°52'N / 95°40'W | 5.60 Miles | 533 Yards | 0 | 0 | 3K | 0 | Mills |
| 49.2 | 1958-07-14 | 3 | 41°04'N / 94°36'W | 40°54'N / 94°35'W | 11.20 Miles | 100 Yards | 0 | 1 | 250K | 0 | Adams |
| 49.6 | 1950-05-05 | 3 | 39°39'N / 95°34'W | 39°51'N / 95°31'W | 14.00 Miles | 440 Yards | 0 | 0 | 250K | 0 | Brown |
| 49.6 | 1998-06-13 | 2 | 39°54'N / 95°47'W | 39°54'N / 95°47'W | 1.00 Mile | 100 Yards | 0 | 0 | 3.5M | 0 | Nemaha |
| Brief Description: A tornado ripped through downtown Sabetha causing extensive structural damage to buildings in a two block area, as well as downing power lines and several large trees. The tornado's path extended from one-half mile west to one-half mile east of the City Hall building. Eighteen buildings in downtown sustained damage with five buildings including City Hall damaged close to the point of loss. The tornado caused 2 million in damage to City Hall alone as it destroyed half the roof and walls of the building. Away from downtown several homes and vehicles were damaged from fallen trees and limbs on the fringes of the tornado or from strong straight line winds. | |||||||||||
* 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.