Iowans are no stranger to severe weather. Learn more about some of Iowa’s deadliest natural disasters, from floods and tornadoes to droughts and derechos.
You might think that living in a land-locked state would mean less weather trauma. But Iowa is no stranger to natural disasters. Floods, tornados, droughts, winter storms, and more have hit some communities pretty hard. And while not catastrophic, there has also been loss of life from these deadly storms. Looking at historical data, it’s also safe to say that March through August are particularly turbulent months, especially when it comes to severe storms and drought.
In fact, much of the state is currently considered to be in a drought as of the writing of this article. And it’s not just your mind playing tricks on you: severe weather events are becoming more common (and costly!) In fact, according to the National Centers for Environmental Information, between 1980 and 2024, there were some 83 confirmed weather/climate disaster events that had losses exceeding $1 billion. Severe storms were the main offender. But droughts were also common, followed by, perhaps ironically, flooding. From 1980 through 2023, the annual average number of storms was 1.8 per year. But the annual average for the past five years is a bit more shocking. From 2019 through 2023, there were 4.8 severe weather events per year.
Read on to learn more about a few of Iowa’s worst natural disasters over the years.
Tornadoes in Iowa
Tornadoes are a common culprit of destruction and weather-related deaths across the state and have been for years. The deadliest tornado in Iowa history happened on May 15, 1968, in Floyd County. There, an F5 tornado killed 13 people and left some 450 injured. It caused $25 million dollars in property damage. That same day, another F5 tornado struck just east in Fayette County, killing five people there and injuring 156.
On May 25, 2008, an F5 tornado struck the town of Parkersburg and other parts of Butler County, where it claimed nine lives, injured 50 people, and left $75 million in damage behind.
Another F5 tornado struck on October 14, 1966, in Worth County, where it killed six people and injured 172. It was another $25 million in storm damage.
More recently, on May 21st of this year, a multi-vortex F5 tornado swept across south central Iowa, hitting the community of Greenfield particularly hard. Five people were killed, and some 35 were injured during the storm. While it was technically categorized as an F4 tornado, wind speeds were clocked at 309-318 miles per hour, making it the strongest recorded winds ever measured.
Snowstorms in Iowa
Snowstorms are also a deadly natural disaster offender in Iowa. On November 11, 1940, a historic blizzard hit the state, dropping up to 17 inches of snow. Some drifts were reported at 20 feet. In total, 154 lives were lost, many of them hunters who had been out earlier that morning as the day started out very mild. Thousands of cattle were also killed during the storm.
Floods in Iowa
Flooding has also been a more recent concern and devastating experience for some Iowans. The summer of 1993 brought historic flooding to the state, hitting communities along the Mississippi River particularly hard as levees failed. The area received nearly double the amount of rainfall typically received, causing the flooding to spread and cover 16,000 square miles across nine states.
Des Moines was also impacted during that summer and overwhelmed the city’s water supply, leaving residents without water for 19 days. This widespread flooding across the state, with an estimated $2 billion in damages, also took the lives of 17 people.
People living in and around Cedar Rapids experienced a historic flood in 2008 as well. The Cedar River crested at 31.2 feet (beating its previous record of just 20 feet) and impacting the city’s core downtown (including all city services like the library, police department, fire station, city hall, and more) and many residential households. The waters covered 10 square miles and displaced some 18,000 individuals from their homes. Amazingly, no lives were lost due to this storm. The flooding, along with tornadoes occurring that same year, was considered the sixth largest FEMA disaster declaration, coming in at $848 million.
Derechos in Iowa
Iowans also learned the meaning of the word derecho in August 2020. This is a storm that is compared to an inland hurricane. Sustained mainline winds ranging from 70 to 140 miles per hour battered communities like Cedar Rapids for more than 30 minutes straight. In Cedar Rapids, 60% of the city’s tree canopy was completely destroyed. Power to the entire community was out for days (weeks in some areas) as the power grid essentially had to be rebuilt.
Again, miraculously, no lives were lost in the storm, although an estimated $11 billion in damages was left behind.
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