Iowa in 1998 Storm events, disaster declarations and flood insurance claims of the year
NCEI has 1,847 storm events on record for Iowa in 1998.
FEMA has 1 disaster declaration for the state with a date in 1998.
OpenFEMA has 201 NFIP claims with a 1998 year of loss. The NFIP paid $1,622,243 on these claims.
The NWS collects event reports from a variety of sources, which include (but are not limited to): county, state, and federal emergency management officials, local law enforcement officials, SKYWARN spotters, NWS damage surveys, newspaper clipping services, the insurance industry, and the general public, among others.
The National Weather Service reports property and crop damage estimates using available data at the time of event reporting. These values should therefore be considered broad estimates. Damage amounts are not adjusted for inflation.
The words of the agency. Source: NOAA NCEI, Storm Events Database, page "Frequently Asked Questions", copied on .
This is raw, unedited data from FEMA's National Emergency Management Information System (NEMIS) and as such is subject to a small percentage of human error.
The words of the agency. Source: FEMA, OpenFEMA Dataset "Disaster Declarations Summaries - v2", copied on . The page gives: last data refresh 2026-10-01.
It is derived from the National Flood Insurance Program system of record, staged in the program's reporting platform and redacted to protect policy holder personally identifiable information.
The words of the agency. Source: FEMA, OpenFEMA Dataset "NFIP Redacted Claims - v3", copied on . The page gives: last data refresh 2026-09-09.
Dates of the data: NCEI storm events through . OpenFEMA disaster declarations through . NFIP claims through .
Storm events of 1998 by hazard
| Hazard | Storm events in 1998 |
|---|---|
| Hail | 367 |
| Tornado | 78 |
| Flood | 325 |
| Wind | 755 |
| Winter | 298 |
| Lightning | 11 |
| Other | 13 |
| All storm events | 1,847 |
The counts have the events that NCEI records for a forecast zone.
Counties with a storm event in 1998
Events of 1998 with a tornado rating, damage, injuries or deaths
| Date | County | Event type | Magnitude | Damage estimate | Deaths | Injuries | On record for |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Clayton | Ice Storm | not recorded | $4 thousand | 0 | 1 | Forecast zone | |
| Clarke | Heavy Snow | not recorded | $50 thousand | 1 | 0 | Forecast zone | |
| Washington | Tornado | F3 | $9.0 million | 0 | 28 | County | |
| Johnson | Tornado | F3 | $6.0 million | 0 | 17 | County | |
| Cedar | Tornado | F3 | $2 thousand | 0 | 2 | County | |
| Wright | Lightning | not recorded | $2 thousand | 0 | 1 | County | |
| Kossuth | Tornado | F2 | $1.1 million | 0 | 0 | County | |
| Cass | Thunderstorm Wind | 66 mph | $55 thousand | 0 | 1 | County | |
| Union | Thunderstorm Wind | 63 mph | $11 thousand | 0 | 1 | County | |
| Woodbury | Hail | 1.75 in | $2.4 million | 0 | 0 | County | |
| Calhoun | Hail | 2.75 in | $1.1 million | 0 | 1 | County | |
| Cass | Flash Flood | not recorded | $3.2 million | 0 | 0 | County | |
| Cass | Flood | not recorded | $2.7 million | 0 | 0 | Forecast zone | |
| Guthrie | Flood | not recorded | $1.1 million | 0 | 0 | Forecast zone | |
| Chickasaw | Thunderstorm Wind | 115 mph | $540 thousand | 0 | 1 | County | |
| Louisa | Tornado | F1 | $180 thousand | 0 | 1 | County | |
| Linn | Thunderstorm Wind | 64 mph | none | 0 | 1 | County | |
| Polk | Flood | not recorded | $6.1 million | 0 | 0 | Forecast zone | |
| Buchanan | Thunderstorm Wind | not recorded | $1.8 million | 0 | 0 | County | |
| Louisa | Thunderstorm Wind | 81 mph | $1.0 million | 1 | 1 | County | |
| Polk | Tornado | F2 | $10 million | 0 | 83 | County | |
| Polk | Thunderstorm Wind | 120 mph | $40 million | 0 | 40 | County | |
| Johnson | Thunderstorm Wind | not recorded | $45 million | 0 | 12 | County | |
| Muscatine | Thunderstorm Wind | 90 mph | $1.5 million | 0 | 10 | County | |
| Iowa | Thunderstorm Wind | 81 mph | $800 thousand | 0 | 9 | County | |
| Washington | Thunderstorm Wind | 96 mph | $21 million | 0 | 0 | County | |
| Dallas | Tornado | F2 | $520 thousand | 0 | 2 | County | |
| Henry | Thunderstorm Wind | 60 mph | none | 0 | 2 | County | |
| Polk | Thunderstorm Wind | 120 mph | $10 million | 0 | 0 | County | |
| Dallas | Thunderstorm Wind | 100 mph | $5.4 million | 0 | 0 | County | |
| Polk | Thunderstorm Wind | 100 mph | $4.2 million | 0 | 0 | County | |
| Polk | Thunderstorm Wind | 92 mph | $3.1 million | 0 | 0 | County | |
| Polk | Thunderstorm Wind | 70 mph | $2.0 million | 0 | 0 | County | |
| Polk | Thunderstorm Wind | 70 mph | $2.0 million | 0 | 0 | County | |
| Polk | Thunderstorm Wind | 79 mph | $2.0 million | 0 | 0 | County | |
| Tama | Thunderstorm Wind | 79 mph | $1.1 million | 0 | 0 | County | |
| Hamilton | High Wind | 70 mph | $305 thousand | 1 | 0 | Forecast zone | |
| Fayette | High Wind | 75 mph | $180 thousand | 0 | 1 | Forecast zone | |
| Allamakee | High Wind | 69 mph | $175 thousand | 0 | 1 | Forecast zone | |
| Polk | High Wind | 70 mph | $1.3 million | 0 | 0 | Forecast zone |
A damage figure is an estimate in the NCEI record. Deaths and injuries are the direct and indirect counts of NCEI.
FEMA disaster declarations in 1998
| Declared | Number | Type | Incident type | Title in the FEMA record | Counties |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| DR-1230 | Major disaster | Flood | SEVERE STORMS, TORNADOES AND FLOODING | 83 |
NCEI storm events through 30 Jun 2026. OpenFEMA disaster declarations through 1 Oct 2026. NFIP claims through 8 Sep 2026. All years of Iowa