Iowa, 1979
The year's recorded storm events, federal disaster declarations and flood insurance claims.
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.
Events by hazard
Includes events recorded by forecast zone. The state's yearly total for 1979 was 206 against 141 in 1978.
Counties with the most recorded events
Notable events
| Date | County | Event type | Magnitude | Property damage | Deaths | Injuries |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 28 Jun 1979 | Calhoun | Tornado | F4 | $25,000,000 | 3 | 26 |
| 28 Jun 1979 | Kossuth | Tornado | F3 | $25,000,000 | 2 | 34 |
| 28 Aug 1979 | Fremont | Tornado | F3 | $2,500,000 | 2 | 14 |
| 29 Mar 1979 | Page | Tornado | F4 | $2,500,000 | — | 16 |
| 28 Jun 1979 | Hamilton | Tornado | F2 | $250,000 | — | 10 |
| 8 May 1979 | Woodbury | Tornado | F3 | $25,000 | — | 4 |
| 8 May 1979 | Woodbury | Tornado | — | $25,000 | — | 3 |
| 29 Mar 1979 | Union | Tornado | F3 | $2,500,000 | — | 2 |
| 29 Mar 1979 | Taylor | Tornado | F3 | $2,500,000 | — | 1 |
| 5 Aug 1979 | Clinton | Tornado | F1 | $250,000 | — | 1 |
| 4 Aug 1979 | Winneshiek | Tornado | F1 | $25,000 | — | 1 |
| 29 Mar 1979 | Madison | Tornado | F3 | — | — | 1 |
| 29 Mar 1979 | Warren | Tornado | F3 | — | — | 1 |
| 8 Aug 1979 | Sioux | Tornado | F2 | $2,500,000 | — | — |
| 28 Jun 1979 | Kossuth | Tornado | F1 | $250,000 | — | — |
| 28 Jun 1979 | Humboldt | Tornado | F1 | $250,000 | — | — |
| 28 Jun 1979 | Wright | Tornado | F1 | $250,000 | — | — |
| 28 Jun 1979 | Hamilton | Tornado | F2 | $250,000 | — | — |
| 28 Jun 1979 | Dallas | Tornado | F1 | $250,000 | — | — |
| 5 Jun 1979 | Tama | Tornado | F1 | $250,000 | — | — |
| 5 Jun 1979 | Tama | Tornado | F1 | $250,000 | — | — |
| 5 Jun 1979 | Tama | Tornado | F1 | $250,000 | — | — |
| 5 Jun 1979 | Tama | Tornado | F1 | $250,000 | — | — |
| 5 Jun 1979 | Tama | Tornado | F1 | $250,000 | — | — |
| 30 Jul 1979 | Muscatine | Tornado | F1 | $250,000 | — | — |
| 30 Jul 1979 | Crawford | Tornado | F1 | $250,000 | — | — |
| 13 Jul 1979 | Linn | Tornado | F1 | $250,000 | — | — |
| 30 Jul 1979 | Ida | Tornado | F1 | $250,000 | — | — |
| 5 Aug 1979 | Scott | Tornado | F1 | $250,000 | — | — |
| 29 Mar 1979 | Warren | Tornado | F2 | $250,000 | — | — |
| 22 Oct 1979 | Lee | Tornado | F1 | $250,000 | — | — |
| 28 Jun 1979 | Palo Alto | Tornado | F0 | $25,000 | — | — |
| 28 Jun 1979 | Kossuth | Tornado | F1 | $25,000 | — | — |
| 28 Jun 1979 | Emmet | Tornado | F1 | $25,000 | — | — |
| 28 Jun 1979 | Kossuth | Tornado | F1 | $25,000 | — | — |
| 9 Jun 1979 | Linn | Tornado | F1 | $25,000 | — | — |
| 30 Jul 1979 | Polk | Tornado | F0 | $25,000 | — | — |
| 4 Aug 1979 | Winneshiek | Tornado | F1 | $25,000 | — | — |
| 26 Aug 1979 | Jasper | Tornado | F1 | $25,000 | — | — |
| 13 Jul 1979 | Wright | Tornado | F1 | $25,000 | — | — |
Up to 40 events with deaths, injuries, damage of $50,000 or more, or a tornado rating, ranked by deaths, injuries and damage.
Federal disaster declarations in 1979
| Declared | Number | Type | Incident | Title | Counties |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 Jul 1979 | DR-590 | Major disaster | Tornado | High Winds & Tornadoes | 8 |
| 6 Apr 1979 | EM-3076 | Emergency | Tornado | Severe Storms & Tornadoes | 5 |
Flood insurance claims with a 1979 date of loss
341 NFIP claims, 254 of them paid, for $646,941.
Sources: NOAA NCEI Storm Events through 30 Jun 2026; OpenFEMA DisasterDeclarationsSummaries v2 (1 Oct 2026); OpenFEMA NfipClaims v3 (8 Sep 2026). Built 1 Oct 2026.