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Iowa

The recorded hazard history of every county in Iowa: storm events since 1950, federal disaster declarations since 1953, and National Flood Insurance Program claims since 1978.

Iowa has 69,606 weather events in the NCEI Storm Events record since 1950 across 99 counties, led by damaging wind: 124.6 per 100 square miles against 56.0 nationally.

NCEI attributes 223 deaths and 3,433 injuries to those events, with property damage estimated at $6.5B. By events per 100 square miles the leading counties are Polk, Scott and Story.

FEMA lists 79 disaster declarations touching the state since 1953, most recently Severe Storms And Flooding (1 Sep 2026). NFIP policyholders filed 14,788 flood claims since 1978, $358M paid; 6,602 residential policies are in force.

1,467events, last 12 monthsto 30 Jun 2026

69,606events since 1950124.6 per 100 sq mi (US 56.0)

79disaster declarations since 1953last 1 Sep 2026

14,788NFIP flood claims$358M paid

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. Storm records through 30 Jun 2026; declarations refreshed 29 Sep 2026; claims as of 8 Sep 2026.

Compared with the United States

Measure	Iowa	US
Recorded events since 1950	69,606	1,977,440
Events per 100 square miles	124.6	56.0
Events per 10,000 residents	218.0	59.6
Deaths recorded by NCEI	223	26,435
Property damage (NCEI estimates)	$6.5B	$575B
NFIP claims per 1,000 residents	4.6	8.1
Average paid NFIP claim	$30K	$43K
Residential flood policies in force	6,602	3,139,862

Hazard mix

Wind20,854

Hail15,950

Winter10,746

Flood7,383

Other4,309

Tornado3,501

Cold2,748

Drought2,602

Heat888

Lightning366

Fog237

Wildfire22

Hazard	Events	Share of US	Deaths
■ Wind	20,854	3.0%	25
■ Hail	15,950	3.8%	4
■ Winter	10,746	3.7%	47
■ Flood	7,383	4.0%	18
■ Other	4,309	9.4%	—
■ Tornado	3,501	4.3%	100
■ Cold	2,748	5.1%	7
■ Drought	2,602	3.0%	—
■ Heat	888	1.6%	4
■ Lightning	366	2.0%	7
■ Fog	237	1.3%	11
■ Wildfire	22	0.2%	—

Events by decade

Hail: 50Tornado: 139Wind: 109

Hail: 287Tornado: 328Wind: 446

Hail: 453Tornado: 334Wind: 903

Hail: 681Tornado: 462Wind: 1377

Hail: 1826Tornado: 476Flood: 1070Wind: 3229Winter: 1593Heat: 87Cold: 616Drought: 46Lightning: 68Fog: 24Other: 47

Hail: 6012Tornado: 633Flood: 2482Wind: 5876Winter: 3853Heat: 107Cold: 473Drought: 387Wildfire: 1Lightning: 148Fog: 116Other: 485

Hail: 4399Tornado: 573Flood: 3241Wind: 5484Winter: 3544Heat: 444Cold: 1110Drought: 679Wildfire: 16Lightning: 130Fog: 91Other: 2959

Hail: 2242Tornado: 556Flood: 590Wind: 3430Winter: 1756Heat: 250Cold: 549Drought: 1490Wildfire: 5Lightning: 20Fog: 6Other: 818

2981950s1,0611960s1,6901970s2,5201980s9,0821990s20,5732000s22,6702010s11,7122020s

Recorded events in Iowa by decade and hazard group, including events recorded by forecast zone. HailTornadoFloodWindWinterHeatColdDroughtWildfireLightningFogOther NCEI recorded only tornadoes, hail and thunderstorm wind before 1996.

Counties by events per 100 square miles

County	Events	Last 12 mo	Per 100 sq mi	Per 10k residents	Dominant	Tornadoes	Hail	Declarations	NFIP claims	NRI risk
Polk County	2,373	13	414.6	47.8	Wind	68	670	21	1,550	Relatively Moderate
Scott County	1,273	52	277.9	73.1	Wind	67	273	20	2,267	Relatively Moderate
Story County	1,320	7	230.5	132.7	Wind	64	325	22	286	Relatively Low
Dickinson County	845	32	222.1	473.4	Wind	30	175	18	15	Very Low
Dallas County	1,181	5	200.7	113.8	Wind	58	249	20	42	Relatively Low
Linn County	1,436	62	200.3	62.7	Wind	64	389	23	1,351	Relatively Moderate
Black Hawk County	1,062	18	187.7	81.5	Wind	39	253	20	1,472	Relatively Low
Warren County	1,065	2	187.0	199.4	Hail	48	338	18	24	Very Low
Clay County	1,017	36	179.3	618.6	Hail	42	252	21	78	Very Low
Wapello County	770	2	178.3	218.4	Wind	27	125	20	119	Relatively Low
Des Moines County	709	12	170.4	184.2	Wind	24	123	27	352	Relatively Low
Muscatine County	726	17	166.0	170.1	Wind	41	160	21	355	Relatively Low
Marion County	919	0	165.7	275.3	Wind	47	196	19	26	Very Low
Dubuque County	965	50	158.6	97.8	Wind	33	200	21	252	Relatively Low
Emmet County	624	2	157.6	669.5	Wind	21	122	19	19	Very Low
Osceola County	607	34	152.2	985.5	Winter	27	121	15	2	Very Low
Cerro Gordo County	854	8	150.3	200.0	Wind	39	184	15	216	Relatively Low
Johnson County	901	47	147.0	58.2	Wind	46	229	24	446	Relatively Moderate
O'Brien County	826	46	144.1	589.4	Wind	35	209	15	4	Very Low
Buchanan County	822	36	143.9	397.9	Wind	50	164	25	375	Very Low
Boone County	806	4	141.3	301.6	Wind	53	194	17	18	Very Low
Webster County	1,007	9	140.7	271.1	Wind	65	226	20	93	Relatively Low
Lee County	722	24	139.5	217.4	Wind	43	155	22	141	Relatively Low
Woodbury County	1,213	71	139.0	114.9	Wind	60	385	18	294	Relatively Moderate
Benton County	989	30	138.1	385.0	Wind	46	275	18	108	Very Low
Sioux County	1,046	54	136.2	291.4	Wind	47	261	15	43	Relatively Low
Winnebago County	542	2	135.3	508.6	Wind	24	105	16	2	Very Low
Union County	570	2	134.5	474.3	Wind	42	120	21	14	Relatively Low
Bremer County	583	4	133.9	232.4	Wind	29	128	17	643	Very Low
Lyon County	774	35	131.7	644.4	Winter	43	176	16	75	Very Low
Marshall County	748	3	130.7	187.7	Wind	38	150	20	30	Relatively Low
Ida County	556	31	128.8	799.3	Winter	17	136	20	8	Very Low
Jones County	739	26	128.4	355.2	Wind	46	134	22	122	Very Low
Cass County	724	3	128.3	554.8	Wind	40	174	19	57	Relatively Low
Worth County	513	2	128.2	694.7	Wind	24	94	16	5	Very Low
Clarke County	549	4	127.3	561.1	Hail	20	125	16	0	Very Low
Cedar County	737	24	127.2	400.3	Wind	45	140	18	38	Very Low
Humboldt County	551	3	126.8	571.9	Wind	26	102	22	39	Very Low
Butler County	734	10	126.5	512.1	Wind	31	172	25	316	Very Low
Floyd County	621	20	124.1	402.9	Wind	26	165	20	264	Relatively Low
Buena Vista County	712	32	123.8	342.8	Wind	29	154	22	1	Very Low
Cherokee County	708	35	122.7	615.5	Winter	33	168	23	140	Very Low
Hardin County	693	4	121.7	414.8	Wind	49	129	18	17	Relatively Low
Carroll County	691	12	121.3	333.9	Wind	34	143	17	13	Relatively Low
Delaware County	697	23	120.7	398.1	Wind	40	152	18	105	Relatively Low
Clinton County	833	22	119.9	179.3	Wind	52	142	23	180	Relatively Low
Guthrie County	707	7	119.7	669.1	Hail	31	223	17	10	Very Low
Hamilton County	683	5	118.4	458.8	Wind	56	149	21	28	Relatively Low
Mills County	516	40	118.0	356.7	Wind	25	148	20	121	Very Low
Plymouth County	1,017	36	117.9	396.5	Hail	54	282	16	25	Relatively Low
Henry County	502	9	115.6	246.2	Wind	18	106	16	1	Very Low
Lucas County	490	0	113.8	562.6	Flood	13	78	15	5	Very Low
Louisa County	457	13	113.7	425.2	Winter	16	67	20	120	Very Low
Appanoose County	563	5	113.2	459.3	Wind	24	114	16	8	Very Low
Grundy County	558	7	111.2	451.9	Wind	41	91	15	13	Very Low
Mahaska County	622	0	109.0	282.9	Wind	27	91	20	11	Very Low
Taylor County	580	3	109.0	988.4	Hail	39	168	14	6	Very Low
Adair County	612	4	107.5	811.6	Wind	33	175	17	0	Relatively Low
Montgomery County	454	35	107.1	439.8	Hail	31	129	20	82	Very Low
Calhoun County	609	3	106.9	614.2	Wind	37	132	18	0	Relatively Low
Jasper County	776	0	106.2	205.5	Wind	45	220	19	37	Relatively Low
Van Buren County	515	5	106.2	711.0	Wind	27	126	16	53	Very Low
Fremont County	536	12	104.9	816.2	Hail	39	139	19	233	Very Low
Madison County	585	1	104.3	348.8	Hail	38	152	20	7	Very Low
Howard County	493	14	104.2	520.2	Wind	44	97	23	8	Very Low
Franklin County	602	6	103.4	604.9	Wind	30	125	22	2	Very Low
Jefferson County	450	12	103.3	287.6	Winter	14	93	12	0	Very Low
Mitchell County	484	10	103.1	458.6	Wind	18	110	20	25	Very Low
Pocahontas County	595	2	103.1	841.1	Hail	45	145	22	0	Very Low
Wright County	598	4	103.0	467.7	Wind	38	96	24	2	Very Low
Palo Alto County	580	2	102.9	651.2	Wind	22	125	23	4	Very Low
Washington County	583	26	102.5	259.2	Wind	27	101	15	15	Relatively Low
Iowa County	600	6	102.3	362.1	Winter	34	125	23	36	Very Low
Audubon County	447	2	100.9	793.3	Wind	14	117	22	14	Very Low
Harrison County	698	29	100.2	475.8	Wind	34	218	24	192	Very Low
Adams County	424	0	100.1	1,164.5	Wind	26	102	17	6	Very Low
Hancock County	567	9	99.3	531.7	Wind	28	114	15	3	Very Low
Chickasaw County	495	13	98.2	416.4	Wind	30	111	19	41	Very Low
Greene County	557	3	97.8	639.0	Wind	30	123	19	4	Very Low
Page County	509	29	95.2	334.9	Wind	43	143	16	3	Very Low
Poweshiek County	554	2	94.7	298.1	Wind	35	93	15	0	Very Low
Wayne County	493	1	93.8	757.5	Wind	33	82	15	0	Very Low
Monroe County	405	0	93.4	532.2	Wind	14	61	16	1	Very Low
Clayton County	716	12	92.0	421.2	Flood	17	142	27	212	Very Low
Jackson County	578	18	90.9	298.4	Wind	29	80	21	42	Very Low
Winneshiek County	627	13	90.9	315.2	Wind	23	161	21	31	Very Low
Decatur County	476	3	89.5	621.5	Wind	19	95	14	7	Very Low
Sac County	513	2	89.2	526.0	Wind	25	110	19	2	Very Low
Crawford County	627	4	87.8	387.2	Wind	38	148	23	88	Relatively Low
Fayette County	634	12	86.8	329.2	Wind	30	141	23	94	Relatively Low
Tama County	625	2	86.7	370.5	Wind	48	109	21	145	Relatively Low
Ringgold County	461	0	86.1	993.7	Wind	28	105	20	0	Very Low
Kossuth County	835	4	85.8	574.7	Wind	39	197	20	2	Very Low
Keokuk County	482	7	83.2	486.2	Wind	31	71	19	3	Very Low
Davis County	416	0	82.8	455.2	Wind	20	87	17	0	Relatively Low
Pottawattamie County	774	27	81.4	83.0	Hail	57	260	26	867	Relatively Low
Shelby County	480	14	81.2	407.8	Wind	30	134	20	15	Very Low
Monona County	516	14	74.3	601.8	Wind	30	144	20	30	Very Low
Allamakee County	469	10	73.4	336.8	Wind	12	96	22	17	Very Low

Events are county-recorded plus zone-recorded events whose zone is named for the county. NRI risk is FEMA's National Risk Index overall rating (December 2025).

Counties by flood claims per 100 policies in force

County	Claims, last 10 years	Policies in force	Claims per 100 policies	Claims since 1978	Paid
Des Moines County	99	129	76.7	352	$9.4M
Clay County	64	133	48.1	78	$5.5M
Scott County	260	553	47.0	2,267	$35M
Polk County	202	670	30.1	1,550	$39M
Clinton County	30	108	27.8	180	$1.3M
Woodbury County	44	173	25.4	294	$2.0M
Muscatine County	30	130	23.1	355	$5.6M
Bremer County	23	107	21.5	643	$15M
Sioux County	31	151	20.5	43	$4.0M
Pottawattamie County	85	557	15.3	867	$11M
Harrison County	23	177	13.0	192	$3.4M
Black Hawk County	42	448	9.4	1,472	$27M
Butler County	4	113	3.5	316	$7.4M
Linn County	11	655	1.7	1,351	$69M
Johnson County	4	360	1.1	446	$32M

Counties with at least 100 residential policies in force. Claims by year of loss in the ten years to 2026, divided by residential policies in force as of 3 Aug 2026; a rough ratio, since policies in force today differ from those in force when the losses occurred.

Federal disaster declarations by year

195319902026

Declarations touching Iowa by year declared, 1953 to 2026; each disaster number counted once.

Incident type	Declarations
Severe Storm	34
Flood	30
Tornado	5
Biological	3
Severe Ice Storm	2
Snowstorm	2
Winter Storm	1
Hurricane	1
Drought	1

Most recent declarations (each disaster number once, with the number of counties designated):

Declared	Number	Type	Incident	Title	Counties
1 Sep 2026	DR-4942	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Severe Storms And Flooding	4
21 May 2025	DR-4870	Major disaster	Winter Storm	Severe Winter Storm	4
24 Jun 2024	DR-4796	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Severe Storms, Flooding, Straight-Line Winds, And Tornadoes	29
24 May 2024	DR-4784	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Severe Storms, Tornadoes, And Flooding	29
14 May 2024	DR-4779	Major disaster	Tornado	Severe Storms And Tornadoes	9
25 Aug 2023	DR-4732	Major disaster	Flood	Flooding	7
23 Feb 2022	DR-4642	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, And Tornadoes	25
10 Sep 2020	DR-4561	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Severe Storms And Straight-Line Winds	0
17 Aug 2020	DR-4557	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Severe Storms	23
23 Mar 2020	DR-4483	Major disaster	Biological	Covid-19 Pandemic	99
13 Mar 2020	EM-3524	Emergency	Biological	Covid-19	0
13 Mar 2020	EM-3480	Emergency	Biological	Covid-19	99
29 Apr 2019	DR-4430	Major disaster	Flood	Severe Storms And Flooding	0
23 Mar 2019	DR-4421	Major disaster	Flood	Severe Storms And Flooding	80
12 Sep 2018	DR-4392	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Severe Storm And Tornadoes	4

Flood insurance claims by year

197820022026

NFIP claims in Iowa by year of loss, 1978 to 2026.

14,788 claims, 11,906 paid, $358M in total; 1,104 repetitive-loss and 135 severe repetitive-loss properties. ZIP codes in Iowa with flood claims (233).

Year by year

Each year's events, declarations and claims: 2026 · 2025 · 2024 · 2023 · 2022 · 2021 · 2020 · 2019 · 2018 · 2017 · 2016 · 2015 · 2014 · 2013 · 2012 · 2011 · 2010 · 2009 · 2008 · 2007 · 2006 · 2005 · 2004 · 2003 · 2002 · 2001 · 2000 · 1999 · 1998 · 1997 · and earlier years back to 1950

Questions and answers

Which Iowa counties have the most recorded tornadoes?

Polk (68), Scott (67) and Webster (65), by NCEI count since 1950. Larger counties record more events; the state table also ranks by events per 100 square miles.

Which Iowa counties have the most flood insurance claims?

Scott (2,267), Polk (1,550) and Black Hawk (1,472) since 1978, in the OpenFEMA NFIP claims file.

How many federal disaster declarations has Iowa had?

79 declarations since 1953 (major disaster, emergency and fire management assistance declarations combined), 1 of them in 2026 so far.

How does Iowa compare with the national rate?

124.6 recorded events per 100 square miles against 56.0 nationally; 4.6 NFIP claims per 1,000 residents against 8.1.

Provenance

NOAA NCEI Storm Events through 30 Jun 2026; OpenFEMA DisasterDeclarationsSummaries v2 refreshed 29 Sep 2026; OpenFEMA NfipClaims v3 as of 8 Sep 2026; NfipResidentialPenetrationRates v1 (3 Aug 2026); FEMA National Risk Index December 2025; US Census Bureau 2021 population and area. Built 30 Sep 2026. Methodology.