States › Iowa › Clayton County

Clayton County, Iowa

Recorded hazard history: storm events since 1950, federal disaster declarations since 1953, flood insurance claims since 1978, and FEMA's risk index.

FIPS 19043 · 16,998 residents (2021) · 778 sq mi · dominant hazard Flood

Hail · 142Tornado · 17Flood · 185Wind · 178Winter · 100

Clayton County within Iowa. Dots: HailTornadoFloodWind event locations in the kept record. Boundaries: US Census Bureau.

NCEI notes that Storm Data is compiled from a variety of sources including the National Weather Service, other federal, state and local agencies, the media and the public; that property and crop damage figures are estimates; and that some events are recorded by NWS forecast zone rather than by county. FEMA notes that NFIP claim records are redacted and aggregated to protect the privacy of policyholders. NCEI storm records through 30 Jun 2026; OpenFEMA declarations refreshed 1 Oct 2026; NFIP claims as of 8 Sep 2026.

The NCEI record lists 716 events for Clayton County, Iowa, between 1950 and 2026; floods and flash floods account for the largest share.

That is 92.0 events per 100 square miles, below the Iowa figure of 124.6, and 421.2 per 10,000 residents against 218.0 statewide.

12 events fall in the 12 months to 30 Jun 2026. NCEI attributes 6 deaths and 36 injuries to events in the county, with property damage estimated at $59M and crop damage at $49M.

FEMA has designated the county in 27 federal disaster declarations since 1953; the most recent is Flooding (major disaster, 25 Aug 2023).

National Flood Insurance Program policyholders in the county filed 212 claims since 1978, of which 169 were paid, totalling $3.4M (about $20K per paid claim). FEMA counts 85 residential flood policies in force.

FEMA's National Risk Index rates the county's overall risk as "Very Low" and its expected annual loss as "Very Low" ($15M a year across 18 hazards).

12events, last 12 monthsto 30 Jun 2026

716events since 19506 deaths, 36 injuries recorded

27disaster declarationslast 25 Aug 2023

212NFIP flood claims$3.4M paid

Compared with Iowa and the United States

Measure	Clayton County	Iowa	US
Recorded events since 1950	716	69,606	1,977,440
Events per 100 square miles	92.0	124.6	56.0
Events per 10,000 residents	421.2	218.0	59.6
Events in the last 12 months	12	1,467	62,008
Deaths recorded by NCEI	6	223	26,435
Property damage (NCEI estimates)	$59M	$6.5B	$575B
NFIP claims per 1,000 residents	12.5	4.6	8.1
Average paid NFIP claim	$20K	$30K	$43K
Claims per 100 policies in force, last 10 years	24.7	21.8	16.1

County-recorded events plus zone-recorded events whose forecast zone is named for the county. State and US rows include events recorded only by forecast zone. Rates use 2021 Census population and land area.

Events by decade

Tornado: 1Wind: 1

Hail: 3Tornado: 1

Hail: 4Wind: 9

Hail: 5Tornado: 4Wind: 14

Hail: 19Tornado: 4Flood: 4Wind: 33Winter: 12Heat: 5Cold: 1Other: 1

Hail: 60Tornado: 2Flood: 31Wind: 40Winter: 36Heat: 2Cold: 7Lightning: 1Other: 6

Hail: 36Tornado: 3Flood: 129Wind: 62Winter: 33Heat: 5Cold: 8Drought: 5Fog: 2Other: 21

Hail: 15Tornado: 2Flood: 21Wind: 19Winter: 19Heat: 3Cold: 6Drought: 16Fog: 1Other: 4

21950s41960s131970s231980s791990s1852000s3042010s1062020s

Recorded events in Clayton County by decade and hazard group. HailTornadoFloodWindWinterHeatColdDroughtLightningFogOther NCEI recorded only tornadoes, hail and thunderstorm wind before 1996.

Trend: 506 events in the 20 years to 2025 against 175 in the 20 years before. Reporting practice changed in 1996 and again with automated reports in the 2000s, so decade totals measure the record as much as the weather.

Events by type

Flood185

Wind178

Hail142

Winter100

Other32

Cold22

Drought21

Tornado17

Heat15

Fog3

Lightning1

Hazard	Events	Deaths	Share of state's events
■ Flood	185	—	2.5%	detail
■ Wind	178	—	0.9%	detail
■ Hail	142	—	0.9%	detail
■ Winter	100	2	0.9%	detail
■ Other	32	—	0.7%
■ Cold	22	—	0.8%
■ Drought	21	—	0.8%
■ Tornado	17	3	0.5%	detail
■ Heat	15	—	1.7%
■ Fog	3	1	1.3%
■ Lightning	1	—	0.3%

Hazard pages exist for hail, tornado, flood, wind and winter where the county has at least 10 recorded events. "Other" covers heavy rain, debris flow, dust, funnel clouds and similar reports.

Largest recorded events

Date	Event type	Group	Magnitude	Property damage	Crop damage	Deaths	Injuries	Geography
30 May 1985	Tornado	Tornado	F3	$25M	—	2	25	County
19 Jul 2017	Tornado	Tornado	EF1	$840K	—	1	2	County
19 Mar 2020	Dense Fog	Fog	—	$85K	—	1	1	Forecast zone
16 Jan 2021	Winter Weather	Winter	—	$30K	—	1	—	Forecast zone
9 Nov 2011	Winter Weather	Winter	—	$5K	—	1	—	Forecast zone
16 Feb 2011	Dense Fog	Fog	—	$12K	—	—	5	Forecast zone
7 Jun 2008	Flood	Flood	—	$4.7M	$20M	—	—	County
21 Jul 2017	Flash Flood	Flood	—	$950K	$11M	—	—	County
26 Jun 1989	Tornado	Tornado	F0	$25K	—	—	1	County
26 Oct 2010	High Wind	Wind	60 mph	$18K	—	—	1	Forecast zone
4 Jan 1998	Ice Storm	Winter	—	$4K	—	—	1	Forecast zone
8 Jun 2008	Flood	Flood	—	$3.5M	$3.0M	—	—	County
8 Jun 2008	Flood	Flood	—	$2.0M	$2.5M	—	—	County
24 Jul 2009	Hail	Hail	1.75 in	$150K	$3.0M	—	—	County
24 Jul 2009	Hail	Hail	1.75 in	$120K	$3.0M	—	—	County
24 Jul 2009	Hail	Hail	1.75 in	$111K	$3.0M	—	—	County
1 May 2001	Flood	Flood	—	$3.0M	—	—	—	Forecast zone
17 May 1999	Flood	Flood	—	$2.5M	$250K	—	—	Forecast zone
13 Apr 2001	Flood	Flood	—	$2.5M	—	—	—	Forecast zone
13 Mar 2019	Flood	Flood	—	$2.0M	$2K	—	—	County

Ranked by deaths, then injuries, then NCEI's damage estimate. Deaths and injuries are NCEI counts (direct plus indirect); no personal details are recorded here.

Federal disaster declarations

Declared	Number	Type	Incident	Title	Programs
25 Aug 2023	DR-4732	Major disaster	Flood	Flooding	Public assistance
23 Mar 2020	DR-4483	Major disaster	Biological	Covid-19 Pandemic	Individual assistance, Public assistance
13 Mar 2020	EM-3480	Emergency	Biological	Covid-19	Public assistance
23 Mar 2019	DR-4421	Major disaster	Flood	Severe Storms And Flooding	Public assistance
27 Aug 2017	DR-4334	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Straight-Line Winds, And Flooding	Public assistance
31 Oct 2016	DR-4289	Major disaster	Flood	Severe Storms And Flooding	Public assistance
29 Sep 2016	DR-4281	Major disaster	Flood	Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, And Flooding	Public assistance
31 Jul 2015	DR-4234	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Straight-Line Winds, And Flooding	Public assistance
31 Jul 2013	DR-4135	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Severe Storms, Tornadoes, And Flooding	Public assistance
2 Jul 2013	DR-4126	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Severe Storms, Tornadoes, And Flooding	Public assistance
29 Jul 2010	DR-1930	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Severe Storms, Flooding, And Tornadoes	Individual assistance, Public assistance
27 May 2008	DR-1763	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Severe Storms, Tornadoes, And Flooding	Individual assistance, Public assistance
10 Sep 2005	EM-3239	Emergency	Hurricane	Hurricane Katrina Evacuation	Public assistance
25 May 2004	DR-1518	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Severe Storms, Tornadoes, And Flooding	Individual assistance, Public assistance
19 Jun 2002	DR-1420	Major disaster	Flood	Severe Storms And Flooding	Individual assistance, Public assistance
2 May 2001	DR-1367	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Severe Storms, Tornadoes And Flooding	Individual assistance, Public assistance
22 Jul 1999	DR-1282	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Severe Storms And Flooding	Public assistance
21 May 1999	DR-1277	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Severe Storms, Flooding, And Tornadoes	Individual assistance, Public assistance
2 Jul 1998	DR-1230	Major disaster	Flood	Severe Storms, Tornadoes And Flooding	Individual assistance, Public assistance
9 Jul 1993	DR-996	Major disaster	Flood	Severe Storms & Flooding	Individual assistance, Public assistance
12 Jul 1991	DR-911	Major disaster	Flood	Severe Storms & Flooding	Individual assistance, Public assistance
6 Sep 1990	DR-879	Major disaster	Flood	Severe Storms & Flooding	Individual assistance, Public assistance
24 Jun 1974	DR-443	Major disaster	Flood	Severe Storms & Flooding	Individual assistance, Public assistance
26 Sep 1972	DR-354	Major disaster	Flood	Severe Storms & Flooding	Public assistance
25 Apr 1969	DR-259	Major disaster	Flood	Flooding	Individual assistance, Public assistance
4 Aug 1968	DR-248	Major disaster	Flood	Heavy Rains & Flooding	Individual assistance, Public assistance
22 Apr 1965	DR-193	Major disaster	Flood	Flooding	Individual assistance, Public assistance

Declarations in which FEMA designated this county, from the OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries (v2). DR: major disaster; EM: emergency; FM: fire management assistance. Programs show whether individual or public assistance was made available.

Flood insurance claims

197820022026

NFIP claims by year of loss in Clayton County, 1978 to 2026 (hover for the amount paid).

Claims since 1978212

Paid claims169

Total paid$3.4M

Average paid claim$20K

Repetitive-loss properties110 severe

Residential policies in force850.9% of 9,008 structures

Year of loss	Claims	Paid claims	Amount paid	Average paid
2024	2	2	$18,624	$9,312
2023	6	5	$67,577	$13,515
2021	2	2	$28,314	$14,157
2019	6	5	$207,841	$41,568
2018	2	1	$909	$909
2017	3	3	$148,338	$49,446
2016	12	8	$57,681	$7,210
2014	1	1	$3,251	$3,251
2013	5	4	$17,199	$4,300
2011	15	12	$188,854	$15,738
2010	1	1	$35,754	$35,754
2009	1	1	$658	$658
2008	37	29	$1,370,707	$47,266
2007	2	2	$7,495	$3,747
2004	24	20	$357,217	$17,861
2001	20	18	$254,789	$14,155
1999	17	13	$240,376	$18,490
1998	1	0	$0	—
1997	8	6	$36,527	$6,088
1993	14	12	$110,072	$9,173
1991	21	16	$205,359	$12,835
1986	6	4	$3,744	$936
1983	3	1	$1,644	$1,644
1982	1	1	$725	$725
1981	1	1	$617	$617

OpenFEMA NFIP claims (v3, as of 8 Sep 2026), aggregated by year of loss; amounts are building, contents and increased-cost-of-compliance payments as recorded. Repetitive-loss counts from the NFIP Multiple Loss Properties file (2 Aug 2026); policies in force from the NFIP Residential Penetration Rates file (3 Aug 2026).

National Risk Index

Overall riskVery Lowscore 42.2 of 100

Expected annual loss$15MVery Low

Social vulnerabilityRelatively Low

Community resilienceRelatively High

Hazard (NRI)	Risk rating	Expected annual loss
Inland flooding	Relatively Low	$9,249,187
Tornado	Relatively Low	$1,550,015
Cold wave	Relatively Low	$1,232,845
Hail	Relatively Moderate	$1,107,801
Strong wind	Relatively Low	$472,124
Drought	Relatively Moderate	$414,078
Heat wave	Relatively Low	$284,341
Landslide	Relatively Moderate	$70,767
Lightning	Very Low	$70,065
Winter weather	Relatively Low	$32,992
Ice storm	Very Low	$20,148
Earthquake	Very Low	$16,814
Wildfire	Very Low	$4,537
Hurricane	Very Low	$3,953

FEMA National Risk Index, December 2025 release. Ratings are FEMA's relative comparison of counties; expected annual loss is FEMA's modelled estimate of average yearly building, population and agriculture loss. See how to read the NRI.

Hurricane and tropical storm passes

No HURDAT2 track at tropical-storm strength passes within 100 miles of the county's centre point (through the 2025 season).

ZIP codes with flood claims

52043 75
52052 56
52157 20
52077 12
52044 11
52048 9
52072 7
52049 5

ZIP codes whose NFIP claims carry this county's code, with the number of claims. Five or more claims are needed for a ZIP page to be indexed.

Questions and answers

How often does it hail in Clayton County, IA?

NCEI records 142 hail events in Clayton County since 1950, in 38 different years; that is about 1.8 recorded events a year. 29 reports were golf-ball size (1.75 in) or larger.

Has Clayton County had a tornado?

Yes. NCEI records 17 tornadoes in Clayton County since 1950, 4 of them rated (E)F2 or stronger. Tornado deaths recorded: 3.

When was the last federal disaster declaration for Clayton County?

25 Aug 2023: Flooding, a major disaster declaration for flood. The county appears in 27 declarations since 1953.

How many flood insurance claims have been filed in Clayton County, and how much was paid?

212 NFIP claims since 1978, 169 of them paid, for $3.4M in total. FEMA publishes these figures redacted and aggregated; individual properties are not identified.

Is Clayton County in the National Risk Index's high-risk band?

FEMA's National Risk Index (December 2025) rates the county "Very Low" for overall risk, "Very Low" for expected annual loss, "Relatively Low" for social vulnerability and "Relatively High" for community resilience. These ratings are FEMA's relative comparison across all US counties.

How does Clayton County compare with the rest of Iowa?

92.0 recorded events per 100 square miles against 124.6 statewide, and 12.5 NFIP claims per 1,000 residents against 4.6. The comparison table on this page shows each measure beside the state and national figures.

Provenance

Storm events: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, yearly details files through 30 Jun 2026 (public domain). Declarations: OpenFEMA DisasterDeclarationsSummaries v2, refreshed 1 Oct 2026. Flood claims: OpenFEMA NfipClaims v3 as of 8 Sep 2026; NfipMultipleLossProperties v1 (2 Aug 2026); NfipResidentialPenetrationRates v1 (3 Aug 2026). Risk index: FEMA National Risk Index, December 2025. Hurricane tracks: NHC HURDAT2 through 2025. Population and area: US Census Bureau, 2021 vintage. Built 1 Oct 2026; see the methodology and corrections pages. Hazard hubs: Hail · Tornado · Flood · Wind · Winter.