Woden, IA Natural Disasters and Weather Extremes
Hot Rankings
The chance of earthquake damage in Woden is about the same as Iowa average and is much lower than the national average. The risk of tornado damage in Woden is about the same as Iowa average and is much higher than the national average.
Earthquake Index, #492
| Woden, 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
| Woden, 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, #567
| Woden, IA | 227.18 |
| 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 2,991 other weather extremes events within 50 miles of Woden, 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: | 44 | Cold: | 27 | Dense Fog: | 2 | Drought: | 7 |
| Dust Storm: | 0 | Flood: | 282 | Hail: | 1,120 | Heat: | 10 | Heavy Snow: | 50 |
| High Surf: | 0 | Hurricane: | 0 | Ice Storm: | 21 | Landslide: | 0 | Strong Wind: | 75 |
| Thunderstorm Winds: | 1,058 | Tropical Storm: | 0 | Wildfire: | 0 | Winter Storm: | 64 | Winter Weather: | 27 |
| Other: | 204 | ||||||||
Volcanos Nearby
No volcano is found in or near Woden, IA.
Historical Earthquake Events
No historical earthquake events that had recorded magnitudes of 3.5 or above found in or near Woden, IA.
No historical earthquake events found in or near Woden, IA.
Historical Tornado Events
A total of 83 historical tornado events that had recorded magnitude of 2 or above found in or near Woden, IA.
| Distance (miles) | Date | Magnitude | Start Lat/Log | End Lat/Log | Length | Width | Fatalities | Injuries | Property Damage | Crop Damage | Affected County |
| 5.2 | 1982-05-17 | 2 | 43°13'N / 93°49'W | 43°15'N / 93°48'W | 2.00 Miles | 80 Yards | 0 | 0 | 250K | 0 | Hancock |
| 5.2 | 1984-06-07 | 2 | 43°12'N / 93°49'W | 43°17'N / 93°48'W | 5.00 Miles | 127 Yards | 0 | 0 | 2.5M | 0 | Hancock |
| 5.7 | 1951-06-25 | 2 | 43°13'N / 93°48'W | 0.80 Mile | 500 Yards | 0 | 8 | 0K | 0 | Hancock | |
| 5.8 | 1984-06-07 | 2 | 43°13'N / 94°04'W | 43°19'N / 93°58'W | 8.00 Miles | 150 Yards | 0 | 1 | 2.5M | 0 | Kossuth |
| 6.2 | 1963-05-09 | 2 | 43°13'N / 93°55'W | 43°17'N / 93°40'W | 13.10 Miles | 400 Yards | 0 | 0 | 250K | 0 | Hancock |
| 8.1 | 1967-04-30 | 2 | 43°13'N / 93°48'W | 43°14'N / 93°42'W | 4.30 Miles | 300 Yards | 0 | 0 | 2.5M | 0 | Hancock |
| 9.3 | 1990-08-02 | 2 | 43°16'N / 93°49'W | 43°16'N / 93°39'W | 7.00 Miles | 63 Yards | 0 | 0 | 250K | 0 | Winnebago |
| 10.7 | 1982-05-17 | 2 | 43°15'N / 93°48'W | 43°27'N / 93°45'W | 11.00 Miles | 80 Yards | 0 | 0 | 250K | 0 | Winnebago |
| 10.9 | 1984-06-07 | 2 | 43°19'N / 93°58'W | 43°27'N / 93°45'W | 13.00 Miles | 150 Yards | 0 | 0 | 2.5M | 0 | Winnebago |
| 11.5 | 1974-06-09 | 2 | 43°05'N / 94°01'W | 0 | 0 | 250K | 0 | Kossuth | |||
| 11.9 | 1984-06-07 | 2 | 43°17'N / 93°48'W | 43°28'N / 93°46'W | 13.00 Miles | 127 Yards | 0 | 0 | 2.5M | 0 | Winnebago |
| 12.1 | 1984-06-07 | 3 | 43°12'N / 94°13'W | 43°19'N / 94°05'W | 9.00 Miles | 150 Yards | 0 | 5 | 25.0M | 0 | Kossuth |
| 12.9 | 1998-05-15 | 2 | 43°01'N / 94°14'W | 43°28'N / 94°06'W | 31.30 Miles | 175 Yards | 0 | 0 | 1.0M | 75K | Kossuth |
| Brief Description: Intermittent track As the system mentioned above continued to evolve, a widespread outbreak of severe weather took place over Iowa. Strong upper level dynamics moved over the state over the top of an unstable air mass. Surface dew point temperatures were in the low 70s with actual temperatures in the upper 70s to low 80s. CAPE values rose to between 2500 and 3500 J/kg. The situation became complex during the afternoon as several bands of severe thunderstorms developed. Some areas of the state were affected three times during the day as the storms raced northeast around 60 MPH. The main severe feature with the storms was high wind. There were numerous reports of wind gusts of 60 to 75 MPH. Some were even higher. One of the highest reports came from Atlantic in Cass County. Ninety one MPH winds there threw several cars and a few semi-tractortrailer trucks off of Interstate 80. High winds in Kossuth County at Algona resulted in roof damage at a nursing home there. Part of the roof was removed by the winds with the damage estimates to the building places at around $200,000. Another cluster of storms moved into north central Iowa and caused widespread damage in Cerro Gordo and Worth Counties. Both were hit with winds around 70 MPH. There were numerous other reports of damage to farm buildings around the state ranging from corn cribs damaged to barns being destroyed. Damage to trees and power lines was extensive. North of Algona, along U.S. Highway 169, seventy eight power poles were downed by the high winds resulting in a four day closure of the highway. Utility damage around the county was estimated at between $600,000 and $800,000, while insurance adjusters estimated damage around the county at $1.2 million. There were some reports of hail, especially during the first few hours of the event. The largest hail was around golf ball in size. In addition to the wind and hail, there were several tornado touch downs in the state. A tornado touched down in Kossuth County and did over $1 million in damage. The tornado destroyed 2 houses with another 10 sustaining major damage. Fifteen farmsteads were destroyed as well. Kossuth County was later declared a disaster area. There was also considerable damage to barns and other farm buildings across the county. The outflow from the tornadic storm in Kossuth County pushed an 85 MPH wind gust south into Humboldt County. The high winds blew over 41 railroad cars of the Union Pacific Railroad south of Ottosen. A band of 80 to 90 MPH winds swept across Franklin and Butler Counties. Damage was widespread. There was one report of the wind carrying the family dog over one half mile from home. The dog was later found safe and healthy. Another of the stronger tornadoes included one in Wright County that was on the ground for over 10 miles. It damaged several farm buildings along its path. Several 2 x 4's were driven into the ground north of Clarion by the tornado. Another fairly strong tornado touched down in Crawford County. The rope tornado touched down southeast of Denison. It hit a train about 3 miles east of Denison and derailed nine cars of the Union Pacific freight train. The engineer saw it coming and thought it was so small that nothing would happen. There was also minor damage to 1 house and several out buildings. There were a few other brief touch downs around the state, however no damage was reported with them. The rapid movement of the storms prevented a lot of the flooding that would have otherwise occurred. Repeat thunderstorms passing over Kossuth County did cause some urban flooding. Damage was relatively minor, however several homes reported minor flooding. As the storms moved across Hancock County, lightning struck a house in the town of Britt. The kitchen sink was blown away from the wall and all of the appliances and the electrical equipment in the house was damaged. Lightning struck very close to another house in Wright County in Belmond. A 75-year old woman received minor injuries as she was struck by lightning as she unplugged her TV near a large window. | |||||||||||
| 17.5 | 1979-06-28 | 3 | 43°15'N / 94°15'W | 43°01'N / 94°13'W | 15.90 Miles | 300 Yards | 2 | 34 | 25.0M | 0 | Kossuth |
| 19.1 | 1964-08-29 | 4 | 42°55'N / 94°14'W | 43°07'N / 94°04'W | 15.80 Miles | 100 Yards | 0 | 2 | 250K | 0 | Kossuth |
| 20.0 | 1980-09-20 | 2 | 43°19'N / 93°38'W | 43°26'N / 93°30'W | 10.20 Miles | 60 Yards | 0 | 0 | 2.5M | 0 | Winnebago |
| 20.1 | 1980-09-20 | 2 | 42°56'N / 94°00'W | 42°58'N / 93°37'W | 19.30 Miles | 33 Yards | 0 | 0 | 2.5M | 0 | Hancock |
| 20.1 | 1984-06-07 | 2 | 42°53'N / 94°03'W | 43°00'N / 93°52'W | 14.00 Miles | 150 Yards | 0 | 0 | 2.5M | 0 | Hancock |
| 20.7 | 1953-03-21 | 3 | 43°16'N / 94°38'W | 43°18'N / 94°00'W | 31.80 Miles | 400 Yards | 0 | 0 | 250K | 0 | Emmet |
| 21.5 | 2010-06-17 | 2 | 43°30'N / 93°43'W | 43°31'N / 93°43'W | 1.00 Mile | 50 Yards | 0 | 0 | 0K | 0K | Faribault |
| Brief Description: EVENT NARRATIVE: A damage survey, plus photo and video evidence from storm chasers, showed that this tornado formed south-southwest of Kiester, near the intersection of 20th Street and 570th Avenue, then wrapped around another tornado (which developed about one mile west of Kiester) and dissipated. While southwest of Kiester, it did EF-2 damage to a couple farmsteads, including tree damage and destruction of several grain bins. EPISODE NARRATIVE: Several strong storms developed in west-central Minnesota during the mid afternoon hours of June 17th. These storms quickly become severe and produced softball size hail northwest of Alexandria and a tornado near Leaf Valley that became the EF-4 that moved through Wadena, Minnesota. By the late afternoon, numerous thunderstorms developed across southern Minnesota along the leading edge of extreme instability. Numerous funnel cloud reports and a few brief tornado touchdowns were noted prior to 5 pm, but once the low level shear (0-1 km) increased significantly from 15 knots, to over 35 knots, strong tornadoes developed along the Iowa border. These storms along the Iowa border produced a series of long-lived tornadoes near Albert Lea, Minnesota. Very large hail also accompanied some tornadoes along with flash flooding. | |||||||||||
| 21.8 | 1953-05-10 | 4 | 43°04'N / 93°31'W | 43°10'N / 93°30'W | 6.40 Miles | 33 Yards | 0 | 3 | 250K | 0 | Hancock |
| 22.2 | 1973-09-26 | 2 | 43°01'N / 93°35'W | 1.00 Mile | 50 Yards | 0 | 0 | 25K | 0 | Hancock | |
| 22.2 | 1999-08-09 | 2 | 43°28'N / 93°37'W | 43°23'N / 93°30'W | 8.00 Miles | 40 Yards | 0 | 0 | 100K | 10K | Winnebago |
| Brief Description: An unstable airmass was in place over Iowa during the afternoon and evening hours of the 9th. Satellite and sounding data suggested the atmosphere was capped at about 775 mb by a warm layer of air with temperatures as high as 18 C. or more. Thunderstorms had a hard time firing off. A cold front moved southeast into the state as rich low level air with dew point temperatures in the mid 70s preceded the front. While the front moved southeast, a speed max near 100 kts in strength moved into the north central U.S. This combined with an upper level short wave helped a few of the storms break the cap. The wind profile was favourable with a strong shearing environment. Thunderstorms moved into north central Iowa and became tornadic quickly. There was basically one cell that produced at least two tornadoes as it slipped southeast into Iowa. The first tornado touched down in Winnebago County near Scarville. The tornado moved southeast across the county and advanced into Worth County by a few miles. The tornado caused crop damage and some building damage along its path. The corner of a bank building was torn off in the town of Joice in Worth County for example. The same cell produced another brief tornado touchdown near Burchinal in Cerro Gordo County near the intersection of I-35 and County Highway B-43. No significant damage was reported with this tornado. As the large cell that produced the tornado moved on, the rear flank downdraft produced high winds once again in the Scarville area. Power lines were downed and a few buildings were damaged by the high winds in the town of Scarville. High winds also struck the airport in Mason City with a wind gust of 58 MPH. | |||||||||||
| 22.4 | 1980-09-20 | 2 | 42°55'N / 94°07'W | 42°56'N / 94°00'W | 5.20 Miles | 80 Yards | 0 | 0 | 2.5M | 0 | Kossuth |
| 23.0 | 1999-08-09 | 2 | 43°24'N / 93°31'W | 43°24'N / 93°31'W | 3.50 Miles | 40 Yards | 0 | 0 | 50K | 5K | Worth |
| Brief Description: An unstable airmass was in place over Iowa during the afternoon and evening hours of the 9th. Satellite and sounding data suggested the atmosphere was capped at about 775 mb by a warm layer of air with temperatures as high as 18 C. or more. Thunderstorms had a hard time firing off. A cold front moved southeast into the state as rich low level air with dew point temperatures in the mid 70s preceded the front. While the front moved southeast, a speed max near 100 kts in strength moved into the north central U.S. This combined with an upper level short wave helped a few of the storms break the cap. The wind profile was favourable with a strong shearing environment. Thunderstorms moved into north central Iowa and became tornadic quickly. There was basically one cell that produced at least two tornadoes as it slipped southeast into Iowa. The first tornado touched down in Winnebago County near Scarville. The tornado moved southeast across the county and advanced into Worth County by a few miles. The tornado caused crop damage and some building damage along its path. The corner of a bank building was torn off in the town of Joice in Worth County for example. The same cell produced another brief tornado touchdown near Burchinal in Cerro Gordo County near the intersection of I-35 and County Highway B-43. No significant damage was reported with this tornado. As the large cell that produced the tornado moved on, the rear flank downdraft produced high winds once again in the Scarville area. Power lines were downed and a few buildings were damaged by the high winds in the town of Scarville. High winds also struck the airport in Mason City with a wind gust of 58 MPH. | |||||||||||
| 23.2 | 2010-06-17 | 2 | 43°31'N / 93°43'W | 43°33'N / 93°42'W | 3.00 Miles | 50 Yards | 0 | 0 | 0K | 0K | Faribault |
| Brief Description: EVENT NARRATIVE: A damage survey, plus photo and video evidence from chasers, showed this tornado developed just west of Kiester, moved north and struck the northwestern edge of Kiester, producing widespread tree damage and rated EF-1 at this point. It continued north as a multiple vortex tornado, doing EF-2 damage to a grove of trees. Farther north, several trees and grave stones were knocked over in a cemetery. It then turned and moved north-northeast before dissipating to the northeast of Kiester. It should be noted that another tornado which developed south-southwest of Kiester (see entry for 1710 to 1716 CST) wrapped around this tornado and dissipated west of Kiester. EPISODE NARRATIVE: Several strong storms developed in west-central Minnesota during the mid afternoon hours of June 17th. These storms quickly become severe and produced softball size hail northwest of Alexandria and a tornado near Leaf Valley that became the EF-4 that moved through Wadena, Minnesota. By the late afternoon, numerous thunderstorms developed across southern Minnesota along the leading edge of extreme instability. Numerous funnel cloud reports and a few brief tornado touchdowns were noted prior to 5 pm, but once the low level shear (0-1 km) increased significantly from 15 knots, to over 35 knots, strong tornadoes developed along the Iowa border. These storms along the Iowa border produced a series of long-lived tornadoes near Albert Lea, Minnesota. Very large hail also accompanied some tornadoes along with flash flooding. | |||||||||||
| 24.2 | 1953-05-10 | 4 | 43°10'N / 93°30'W | 43°27'N / 93°23'W | 20.20 Miles | 33 Yards | 0 | 0 | 250K | 0 | Cerro Gordo |
| 24.5 | 1964-08-29 | 2 | 43°18'N / 93°26'W | 2.00 Miles | 100 Yards | 0 | 0 | 25K | 0 | Worth | |
| 25.7 | 1984-06-07 | 2 | 42°52'N / 94°04'W | 42°53'N / 94°03'W | 1.00 Mile | 150 Yards | 0 | 0 | 2.5M | 0 | Kossuth |
| 26.0 | 1980-09-20 | 2 | 43°26'N / 93°30'W | 43°27'N / 93°28'W | 0 | 0 | 2.5M | 0 | Worth | ||
| 27.2 | 1953-06-07 | 2 | 43°00'N / 94°28'W | 43°13'N / 94°23'W | 15.20 Miles | 500 Yards | 0 | 0 | 0K | 0 | Palo Alto |
| 27.8 | 1984-06-07 | 2 | 42°50'N / 94°07'W | 42°52'N / 94°04'W | 7.00 Miles | 150 Yards | 0 | 0 | 2.5M | 0 | Humboldt |
| 28.3 | 1973-09-26 | 2 | 42°58'N / 93°29'W | 2.00 Miles | 100 Yards | 0 | 0 | 25K | 0 | Cerro Gordo | |
| 28.4 | 1980-07-19 | 2 | 43°01'N / 94°25'W | 43°02'N / 94°23'W | 0 | 0 | 2.5M | 0 | Kossuth | ||
| 28.5 | 1967-04-30 | 3 | 43°06'N / 93°25'W | 43°11'N / 93°18'W | 7.70 Miles | 250 Yards | 0 | 0 | 250K | 0 | Cerro Gordo |
| 29.1 | 1998-06-27 | 2 | 42°59'N / 93°26'W | 43°04'N / 93°23'W | 7.50 Miles | 50 Yards | 0 | 0 | 50K | 2K | Cerro Gordo |
| Brief Description: Iowa was located in the warm sector of a developing storm system to the west. The warm front had moved to the northern Iowa border during the afternoon of the 27th with dew point temperatures in the mid 70s to around 80 blanketing the state in the warm sector. Initially, the airmass was capped, preventing thunderstorms from forming during the afternoon. Slightly cooler air moved in during the evening hours. In addition to the slightly cooler air moving in aloft, a cold front was poised over eastern Nebraska ready to move east into the state. Thunderstorms erupted rapidly by early evening with hail and high winds reported over northern Iowa. There were numerous reports of hail of an inch or larger in diameter, with a few reports of golf ball size hail. High winds were also a problem with many of the storms producing 60 to 70 MPH wind gusts. Reports of tree and power line damage were widespread. There were a few tornadoes as well. One tracked across open country in Cerro Gordo County before damaging a house south of Clear Lake. Another tornado touched down near Swaledale in Cerro Gordo County and passed southeast of Mason City. Much of the track was over open country, however one house was destroyed near Swaledale by this tornado. The longest track tornado moved across Butler and Bremer Counties. It also passed through open country, causing damage to crops and out buildings. In addition to these, there were a few brief touchdowns reported. Iowa soil remained very saturated with numerous rivers at or near flood stage. Heavy rainfall of near 4 inches in a couple hours time caused flash flooding in Cerro Gordo County. A widespread area of north central into northeast Iowa received heavy rainfall. Many areas picked up two to four inches of rain in a few hour period. This resulted in urban and small stream flooding, and ultimately general river flooding in the days that followed. As the storms moved through Worth County, lightning struck an outbuilding west of Kensett. The building was set on fire and destroyed. | |||||||||||
| 29.1 | 1973-09-26 | 2 | 42°49'N / 93°48'W | 1.00 Mile | 100 Yards | 0 | 0 | 25K | 0 | Wright | |
| 30.4 | 1966-10-14 | 5 | 42°48'N / 93°39'W | 42°55'N / 93°32'W | 9.70 Miles | 1000 Yards | 6 | 172 | 25.0M | 0 | Wright |
| 30.5 | 1964-08-29 | 2 | 43°22'N / 93°27'W | 43°29'N / 93°17'W | 11.20 Miles | 150 Yards | 0 | 0 | 25K | 0 | Worth |
| 31.5 | 1981-06-12 | 2 | 42°50'N / 94°13'W | 0 | 1 | 25K | 0 | Humboldt | |||
| 33.5 | 1965-05-15 | 2 | 42°47'N / 94°10'W | 0.50 Mile | 100 Yards | 0 | 0 | 0K | 0 | Humboldt | |
| 33.9 | 1966-10-14 | 2 | 43°39'N / 93°36'W | 43°39'N / 93°31'W | 2.70 Miles | 33 Yards | 0 | 1 | 3K | 0 | Freeborn |
| 34.7 | 1967-04-30 | 2 | 43°07'N / 94°40'W | 43°18'N / 94°32'W | 14.00 Miles | 300 Yards | 0 | 0 | 250K | 0 | Palo Alto |
| 35.5 | 2010-06-17 | 4 | 43°34'N / 93°38'W | 43°48'N / 93°31'W | 17.00 Miles | 1760 Yards | 1 | 14 | 0K | 0K | Freeborn |
| Brief Description: EVENT NARRATIVE: The tornado initially moved northeast to approximately 3.5 miles west of Conger, where at about (43.6156, -93.6015), it began to move more to the east-northeast. West of Armstrong, at about (43.6597, -93.4938), it began tracking nearly due north to just west of Manchester, where at about (43.7357, -93.4801), it began to move to the north-northwest, before dissipating 1.5 miles west of Hartland. Accounting for the changes in direction of this track, the actual path length covered by the tornado was 19.95 miles. Near 180th Street and County Road 2, a home was likely in the outer circulation of the tornado, as it sustained some roof and siding damage. A barn was also destroyed to its brick foundation and a car was also flipped over lengthwise. Some evidence of tree debarking was noted. The tornado continued to the northeast and caused extensive crop damage approximately 500 yards in width. Near County Roads 17 and 63, the tornado intensified to produce EF-3 damage, impacting a farmstead and causing the complete destruction of three swine barns and the loss of 12 head of swine. Two empty grain bins were completely blown away at this location. The house at this location had some roof damage but appeared to be northwest of the main tornado path. Approximately 100 feet northeast of the house, a 150 foot tripod style wind turbine tower was twisted and toppled. This location also marked the beginning of crops being completely raked, with only stalks of corn left, and soybean fields being almost unrecognizable. After passing through this farmstead the tornado took a more easterly path across County Road 63, and maintained EF-3 strength. After passing County Road 63, another farmstead was hit, and two empty harvester silos were toppled. The tornado continued to the northeast across County Road 4, where continued raking of the fields was noted with significant deposition of debris along the tornado path. Numerous trees were toppled at County Road 89 where it turns to the north. The tornado continued to the north-northeast, grew to 1000 yards, and around 1750 LST impacted a farmstead along County Road 12 two miles north of Conger, where EF-4 damage was observed. The house at this location was completely destroyed, as was the barn and several other buildings. Extensive tree damage was noted with nearly all branches being removed from the trunks. Debarking of trees was widespread at this location. A car was also tumbled a distance of 3200 feet, coming to rest in a field east of County Road 12. The tornado continued to the northeast across County Road 69 and County Road 46, where it weakened slightly to EF-3 intensity. As it crossed County Road 46, a house was rotated off the foundation. The tornado was approximately 700 yards wide at this point. To the north-northeast, a swine barn was destroyed with sheet metal being carried off to Interstate 90. At this same time, a satellite tornado developed and caused damage in the town of Armstrong (see separate entry). The main tornado continued to the north-northeast and was 500 yards in width. The tornado crossed County Road 74 and caused EF-2 damage to three farmsteads. One farmstead with a manufactured home was hit, resulting in one fatality and one severe injury. The tornado crossed Interstate 90 just west of County Road 14 as it grew to one third of a mile in width and re-strengthened to EF-3 intensity. Several farmsteads saw significant damage between Sugar Lake and County Road 14, with a house and two barns completely destroyed. From this point the tornado continued to the north, growing to one mile in width. Around 1800 LST, a house and barn were destroyed approximately one mile west of Manchester on County Road 25, where extensive tree and structural damage was also noted at several properties in the area. Additionally, west of this tornadic damage, a separate area of tree and structural damage was caused by strong thunderstorm winds associated with a rear flank downdraft (see separate entry). About one mile north, the tornado weakened slightly to EF-2 Intensity, where it damaged three full grain bins near County Road 29. The tornado was approximately 1300 yards at this point. Further north, at County Road 95, the tornado continued to weaken, although a farmstead still received EF-1 damage to trees and structures. Finally, the tornado continued north and began to narrow and weaken. It dissipated west of Hartland. One person was killed and 14 injured from this tornado. EPISODE NARRATIVE: Several strong storms developed in west-central Minnesota during the mid afternoon hours of June 17th. These storms quickly become severe and produced softball size hail northwest of Alexandria and a tornado near Leaf Valley that became the EF-4 that moved through Wadena, Minnesota. By the late afternoon, numerous thunderstorms developed across southern Minnesota along the leading edge of extreme instability. Numerous funnel cloud reports and a few brief tornado touchdowns were noted prior to 5 pm, but once the low level shear (0-1 km) increased significantly from 15 knots, to over 35 knots, strong tornadoes developed along the Iowa border. These storms along the Iowa border produced a series of long-lived tornadoes near Albert Lea, Minnesota. Very large hail also accompanied some tornadoes along with flash flooding. | |||||||||||
| 36.0 | 1980-05-29 | 2 | 43°11'N / 93°12'W | 0.50 Mile | 30 Yards | 0 | 0 | 25K | 0 | Cerro Gordo | |
| 36.0 | 1981-06-23 | 2 | 43°43'N / 93°39'W | 1.00 Mile | 30 Yards | 0 | 0 | 250K | 0 | Faribault | |
| 37.8 | 2004-05-21 | 2 | 42°48'N / 94°26'W | 42°48'N / 94°19'W | 7.50 Miles | 880 Yards | 0 | 15 | 2.5M | 10K | Humboldt |
| Brief Description: Tornado intensified as it approached Bradgate. Seventy five percent of the town was damaged or destroyed by the tornado which was one half mile wide as it moved through. A very unstable airmass was over Iowa and helped kick off the seasons first severe weather outbreak. At the surface a warm frontal boundary extended nearly east to west across the state and provided the focus for thunderstorm development. By the late afternoon, lifted indices were approaching -10 C. with CAPE values around 5000 J/kg over western Iowa. Surface temperatures warmed into the upper 80s with dew points in the low to mid 70s. A southwest surface wind of 15 to 25 kts pushed over the front. Northeast of the frontal boundary winds were easterly around 10 to 15 kts. Actually, the surface boundary was further enhanced by outflow from convective complexes during the day, further sharpening the contrast. Thunderstorms continued to fire along and north of the boundary through the afternoon and into the evening. This resulted in widespread flash flooding as very heavy rains fell on areas that had had significant rainfall the previous night. There were reports in north central into northeast Iowa of 2 to 4 inches of rainfall in a little more than an hours time. Major flooding took place in the Mason City area where evacuations were taking place. The thunderstorms became most intense during the afternoon into the early evening. There were several tornadoes across northeast into north central Iowa. Most were relatively brief touchdowns and were in open areas. Reports of multi-vortex tornadoes were received from Grundy County. The days most significant tornado touched down in Pocahontas County east of Rolfe and tracked into Humboldt County through the Bradgate area. The tornado damaged or destroyed over 75% of the town of Bradgate (pop 120). Tornado damage in Bradgate was very extensive impacting most of the town. Hardly a building was not impacted. Outbuildings, light structures and garages were heavily damaged or destroyed. Two homes were destroyed. Several homes were damaged ranging from minor to extensive. The Survey Team found that the majority of the damage was F1, with a few cases of F2 damage. The F2 damage was to the snapping of very large trees just west of town and the structural damage to two buildings. Nearly all of the 53 homes there reported damage with several totally destroyed. Significant widespread property damage was reported in the tornadoes path. There were several injuries in the town, the most significant being a broken leg. A police officer was reportedly hit by debris from the tornado and suffered a broken leg. According to law officials, the damage path of the tornado was 2 miles wide and about 8 miles long. Storm chasers on the scene reported the tornado itself to be one half mile wide at one point. Reports of hail were numerous through the afternoon and evening. Most of the hail was in the three quarter inch to one inch diameter range. There were a few reports of golf ball size hail from the stronger storms. Winds were not a major problem with the activity. There were spotty reports of winds to around 60 MPH, but most reports were in the 40 to 50 MPH range. One of the stronger wind reports was a 64 MPH wind gust in Tripoli in Bremer County. This gust was measured by a mesonet station there. During the mid evening hours, thunderstorms rumbled across Grundy County. Lightning struck the Sheriff's office there and destroyed a significant amount of office equipment. Damage was reported around $100,000. | |||||||||||
| 37.9 | 1974-05-28 | 3 | 43°20'N / 93°13'W | 43°22'N / 93°08'W | 3.80 Miles | 150 Yards | 0 | 3 | 2.5M | 0 | Worth |
| 38.2 | 1998-06-27 | 2 | 42°59'N / 93°20'W | 43°04'N / 93°05'W | 12.50 Miles | 50 Yards | 0 | 0 | 125K | 10K | Cerro Gordo |
| Brief Description: Iowa was located in the warm sector of a developing storm system to the west. The warm front had moved to the northern Iowa border during the afternoon of the 27th with dew point temperatures in the mid 70s to around 80 blanketing the state in the warm sector. Initially, the airmass was capped, preventing thunderstorms from forming during the afternoon. Slightly cooler air moved in during the evening hours. In addition to the slightly cooler air moving in aloft, a cold front was poised over eastern Nebraska ready to move east into the state. Thunderstorms erupted rapidly by early evening with hail and high winds reported over northern Iowa. There were numerous reports of hail of an inch or larger in diameter, with a few reports of golf ball size hail. High winds were also a problem with many of the storms producing 60 to 70 MPH wind gusts. Reports of tree and power line damage were widespread. There were a few tornadoes as well. One tracked across open country in Cerro Gordo County before damaging a house south of Clear Lake. Another tornado touched down near Swaledale in Cerro Gordo County and passed southeast of Mason City. Much of the track was over open country, however one house was destroyed near Swaledale by this tornado. The longest track tornado moved across Butler and Bremer Counties. It also passed through open country, causing damage to crops and out buildings. In addition to these, there were a few brief touchdowns reported. Iowa soil remained very saturated with numerous rivers at or near flood stage. Heavy rainfall of near 4 inches in a couple hours time caused flash flooding in Cerro Gordo County. A widespread area of north central into northeast Iowa received heavy rainfall. Many areas picked up two to four inches of rain in a few hour period. This resulted in urban and small stream flooding, and ultimately general river flooding in the days that followed. As the storms moved through Worth County, lightning struck an outbuilding west of Kensett. The building was set on fire and destroyed. | |||||||||||
| 39.0 | 1953-06-07 | 2 | 42°28'N / 94°00'W | 42°52'N / 93°45'W | 30.20 Miles | 200 Yards | 0 | 0 | 0K | 0 | Webster |
| 39.8 | 1967-04-30 | 3 | 43°40'N / 93°35'W | 43°51'N / 93°36'W | 12.30 Miles | 100 Yards | 2 | 23 | 25.0M | 0 | Freeborn |
| 39.8 | 1952-07-27 | 2 | 43°43'N / 93°29'W | 1.50 Miles | 133 Yards | 0 | 4 | 25K | 0 | Freeborn | |
| 40.0 | 2004-05-21 | 2 | 42°49'N / 94°31'W | 42°49'N / 94°25'W | 5.00 Miles | 500 Yards | 0 | 0 | 25K | 5K | Pocahontas |
| Brief Description: Tornado touched down in open areas east of Rolfe. It did some damage but didn't do significant damage before crossing into Humboldt County. A very unstable airmass was over Iowa and helped kick off the seasons first severe weather outbreak. At the surface a warm frontal boundary extended nearly east to west across the state and provided the focus for thunderstorm development. By the late afternoon, lifted indices were approaching -10 C. with CAPE values around 5000 J/kg over western Iowa. Surface temperatures warmed into the upper 80s with dew points in the low to mid 70s. A southwest surface wind of 15 to 25 kts pushed over the front. Northeast of the frontal boundary winds were easterly around 10 to 15 kts. Actually, the surface boundary was further enhanced by outflow from convective complexes during the day, further sharpening the contrast. Thunderstorms continued to fire along and north of the boundary through the afternoon and into the evening. This resulted in widespread flash flooding as very heavy rains fell on areas that had had significant rainfall the previous night. There were reports in north central into northeast Iowa of 2 to 4 inches of rainfall in a little more than an hours time. Major flooding took place in the Mason City area where evacuations were taking place. The thunderstorms became most intense during the afternoon into the early evening. There were several tornadoes across northeast into north central Iowa. Most were relatively brief touchdowns and were in open areas. Reports of multi-vortex tornadoes were received from Grundy County. The days most significant tornado touched down in Pocahontas County east of Rolfe and tracked into Humboldt County through the Bradgate area. The tornado damaged or destroyed over 75% of the town of Bradgate (pop 120). Tornado damage in Bradgate was very extensive impacting most of the town. Hardly a building was not impacted. Outbuildings, light structures and garages were heavily damaged or destroyed. Two homes were destroyed. Several homes were damaged ranging from minor to extensive. The Survey Team found that the majority of the damage was F1, with a few cases of F2 damage. The F2 damage was to the snapping of very large trees just west of town and the structural damage to two buildings. Nearly all of the 53 homes there reported damage with several totally destroyed. Significant widespread property damage was reported in the tornadoes path. There were several injuries in the town, the most significant being a broken leg. A police officer was reportedly hit by debris from the tornado and suffered a broken leg. According to law officials, the damage path of the tornado was 2 miles wide and about 8 miles long. Storm chasers on the scene reported the tornado itself to be one half mile wide at one point. Reports of hail were numerous through the afternoon and evening. Most of the hail was in the three quarter inch to one inch diameter range. There were a few reports of golf ball size hail from the stronger storms. Winds were not a major problem with the activity. There were spotty reports of winds to around 60 MPH, but most reports were in the 40 to 50 MPH range. One of the stronger wind reports was a 64 MPH wind gust in Tripoli in Bremer County. This gust was measured by a mesonet station there. During the mid evening hours, thunderstorms rumbled across Grundy County. Lightning struck the Sheriff's office there and destroyed a significant amount of office equipment. Damage was reported around $100,000. | |||||||||||
| 40.2 | 1953-06-07 | 2 | 42°50'N / 94°42'W | 43°00'N / 94°28'W | 16.20 Miles | 833 Yards | 0 | 0 | 0K | 0 | Pocahontas |
| 40.3 | 1976-06-14 | 2 | 43°15'N / 94°47'W | 43°29'N / 94°36'W | 18.30 Miles | 33 Yards | 0 | 0 | 3K | 0 | Emmet |
| 40.4 | 1967-04-30 | 2 | 42°36'N / 94°02'W | 42°42'N / 93°59'W | 6.80 Miles | 200 Yards | 0 | 0 | 0K | 0 | Webster |
| 40.8 | 1984-06-07 | 2 | 42°55'N / 94°45'W | 43°02'N / 94°32'W | 15.00 Miles | 100 Yards | 0 | 1 | 2.5M | 0 | Palo Alto |
| 40.8 | 1967-04-30 | 2 | 43°25'N / 94°41'W | 1.00 Mile | 200 Yards | 0 | 0 | 250K | 0 | Emmet | |
| 41.7 | 1980-07-19 | 2 | 42°50'N / 94°50'W | 43°01'N / 94°25'W | 24.40 Miles | 80 Yards | 0 | 0 | 2.5M | 0 | Palo Alto |
| 41.9 | 1967-04-30 | 3 | 43°20'N / 93°12'W | 43°34'N / 93°04'W | 17.20 Miles | 800 Yards | 0 | 0 | 2.5M | 0 | Worth |
| 42.2 | 1967-04-30 | 4 | 43°27'N / 93°10'W | 43°30'N / 93°07'W | 3.00 Miles | 500 Yards | 0 | 1 | 2.5M | 0 | Worth |
| 42.4 | 1977-05-04 | 2 | 43°33'N / 94°38'W | 0 | 0 | 25K | 0 | Martin | |||
| 42.5 | 2001-05-01 | 2 | 43°34'N / 93°17'W | 43°37'N / 93°10'W | 7.00 Miles | 440 Yards | 0 | 0 | 20.0M | 0 | Freeborn |
| Brief Description: Tornado first touched down on the western fringe of Glenville, and produced major damage, especially on the northwest side of Glenville. There were 25 homes that sustained major damage, and 70 with minor damage. Damage survey indicated F2 damage on northwest side of Glenville, with F1 damage along rest of path. | |||||||||||
| 43.3 | 1964-04-26 | 2 | 42°36'N / 93°44'W | 42°39'N / 93°39'W | 4.70 Miles | 300 Yards | 0 | 0 | 25K | 0 | Wright |
| 43.3 | 1951-06-25 | 2 | 43°34'N / 94°46'W | 43°36'N / 94°29'W | 14.20 Miles | 33 Yards | 0 | 0 | 250K | 0 | Martin |
| 43.5 | 1967-04-30 | 4 | 43°18'N / 93°10'W | 43°26'N / 92°58'W | 13.30 Miles | 400 Yards | 0 | 0 | 250K | 0 | Worth |
| 43.6 | 1967-04-30 | 2 | 43°23'N / 94°41'W | 43°29'N / 94°47'W | 8.20 Miles | 300 Yards | 0 | 0 | 2.5M | 0 | Emmet |
| 43.9 | 1967-04-30 | 4 | 43°34'N / 93°26'W | 43°51'N / 93°14'W | 21.70 Miles | 100 Yards | 5 | 35 | 25.0M | 0 | Freeborn |
| 44.0 | 1984-06-07 | 2 | 42°50'N / 94°42'W | 42°56'N / 94°35'W | 8.00 Miles | 100 Yards | 0 | 0 | 2.5M | 0 | Pocahontas |
| 44.3 | 1959-05-10 | 2 | 42°45'N / 93°20'W | 42°49'N / 93°14'W | 6.50 Miles | 300 Yards | 0 | 0 | 25K | 0 | Franklin |
| 45.0 | 1967-04-30 | 4 | 43°30'N / 93°07'W | 43°34'N / 93°07'W | 4.60 Miles | 33 Yards | 0 | 0 | 25.0M | 0 | Freeborn |
| 45.2 | 1982-05-17 | 3 | 43°35'N / 93°17'W | 43°42'N / 93°08'W | 10.00 Miles | 100 Yards | 0 | 0 | 250K | 0 | Freeborn |
| 45.4 | 1991-05-17 | 2 | 42°35'N / 93°41'W | 42°37'N / 93°38'W | 2.50 Miles | 60 Yards | 0 | 0 | 25K | 0 | Wright |
| 45.7 | 1967-04-30 | 4 | 43°48'N / 93°31'W | 43°51'N / 93°30'W | 1.90 Miles | 267 Yards | 0 | 0 | 25.0M | 0 | Freeborn |
| 46.4 | 1953-06-07 | 3 | 42°33'N / 94°42'W | 42°51'N / 94°15'W | 30.70 Miles | 200 Yards | 0 | 0 | 0K | 0 | Calhoun |
| 46.4 | 2010-06-17 | 3 | 43°42'N / 93°25'W | 43°51'N / 93°19'W | 11.00 Miles | 1320 Yards | 0 | 0 | 0K | 0K | Freeborn |
| Brief Description: EVENT NARRATIVE: Touchdown was near the intersection of Freeborn County Roads 14 and 20. Multiple farmsteads experienced significant structural and tree damage, including one house completely destroyed and several others heavily damaged. Many outbuildings were destroyed, hundreds of trees uprooted and snapped, with some partially debarked. It then moved into Steele County, southwest of Ellendale, where it began moving to the north-northwest. EPISODE NARRATIVE: Several strong storms developed in west-central Minnesota during the mid afternoon hours of June 17th. These storms quickly become severe and produced softball size hail northwest of Alexandria and a tornado near Leaf Valley that became the EF-4 that moved through Wadena, Minnesota. By the late afternoon, numerous thunderstorms developed across southern Minnesota along the leading edge of extreme instability. Numerous funnel cloud reports and a few brief tornado touchdowns were noted prior to 5 pm, but once the low level shear (0-1 km) increased significantly from 15 knots, to over 35 knots, strong tornadoes developed along the Iowa border. These storms along the Iowa border produced a series of long-lived tornadoes near Albert Lea, Minnesota. Very large hail also accompanied some tornadoes along with flash flooding. | |||||||||||
| 47.2 | 1984-06-07 | 3 | 43°40'N / 93°21'W | 43°53'N / 93°20'W | 14.00 Miles | 100 Yards | 0 | 12 | 25.0M | 0 | Freeborn |
| 47.7 | 1967-04-30 | 3 | 43°51'N / 93°36'W | 43°56'N / 93°40'W | 6.10 Miles | 100 Yards | 0 | 0 | 25.0M | 0 | Waseca |
| 49.2 | 1990-06-19 | 2 | 42°48'N / 94°32'W | 42°34'N / 94°32'W | 14.00 Miles | 77 Yards | 0 | 0 | 2.5M | 0 | Pocahontas |
| 49.2 | 1964-08-29 | 2 | 42°33'N / 94°12'W | 2.00 Miles | 77 Yards | 0 | 0 | 25K | 0 | Webster | |
| 49.3 | 1973-09-21 | 3 | 42°32'N / 94°14'W | 42°34'N / 94°11'W | 2.30 Miles | 143 Yards | 0 | 0 | 25K | 0 | Webster |
| 49.4 | 1991-05-17 | 2 | 42°29'N / 93°42'W | 42°35'N / 93°41'W | 6.50 Miles | 60 Yards | 0 | 0 | 25K | 0 | Hamilton |
| 49.6 | 1977-05-04 | 4 | 42°32'N / 94°09'W | 2.00 Miles | 70 Yards | 0 | 14 | 250K | 0 | Webster | |
* 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.