Iowa, 2020
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 2020 was 1,588 against 2,276 in 2019.
Counties with the most recorded events
Notable events
| Date | County | Event type | Magnitude | Property damage | Deaths | Injuries |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10 Aug 2020 | Linn | Thunderstorm Wind | 140 mph | — | 1 | 200 |
| 12 Jan 2020 | Plymouth | Winter Weather | — | — | 2 | — |
| 9 Nov 2020 | Plymouth | Winter Weather | — | $10,000 | 1 | 2 |
| 19 Mar 2020 | Clayton | Dense Fog | — | $85,000 | 1 | 1 |
| 9 Nov 2020 | Woodbury | Ice Storm | — | $6,000 | 1 | — |
| 10 Jan 2020 | Cedar | Winter Storm | — | — | 1 | — |
| 10 Aug 2020 | Poweshiek | Thunderstorm Wind | 81 mph | — | 1 | — |
| 10 Aug 2020 | Poweshiek | Thunderstorm Wind | 81 mph | — | 1 | — |
| 23 Dec 2020 | Clay | Blizzard | — | — | — | 4 |
| 12 Jan 2020 | O'Brien | Winter Weather | — | $11,000 | — | 2 |
| 28 Mar 2020 | Fayette | Tornado | EF1 | $165,000 | — | 1 |
| 10 Nov 2020 | Lyon | Winter Storm | — | $4,000 | — | 1 |
| 23 Jun 2020 | Tama | Flood | — | $400,000 | — | — |
| 11 Oct 2020 | Woodbury | Wildfire | — | $300,000 | — | — |
| 28 Mar 2020 | Adair | Tornado | EF1 | $95,000 | — | — |
| 28 Mar 2020 | Fayette | Tornado | EF0 | $75,000 | — | — |
| 28 Mar 2020 | Black Hawk | Tornado | EF0 | $75,000 | — | — |
| 26 May 2020 | Wright | Tornado | EF1 | $70,000 | — | — |
| 11 Jul 2020 | Fayette | Thunderstorm Wind | 52 mph | $50,000 | — | — |
| 26 May 2020 | Dallas | Tornado | EF0 | $30,000 | — | — |
| 28 Mar 2020 | Adams | Tornado | EF0 | $30,000 | — | — |
| 10 Aug 2020 | Marshall | Tornado | EF1 | $20,000 | — | — |
| 10 Aug 2020 | Tama | Tornado | EF unrated | — | — | — |
| 10 Aug 2020 | Marshall | Tornado | EF unrated | — | — | — |
| 10 Aug 2020 | Marshall | Tornado | EF unrated | — | — | — |
| 28 Mar 2020 | Buchanan | Tornado | EF1 | — | — | — |
| 28 Mar 2020 | Dubuque | Tornado | EF1 | — | — | — |
| 26 May 2020 | Dallas | Tornado | EF unrated | — | — | — |
| 26 May 2020 | Guthrie | Tornado | EF unrated | — | — | — |
| 26 May 2020 | Guthrie | Tornado | EF unrated | — | — | — |
| 28 Mar 2020 | Marshall | Tornado | EF0 | — | — | — |
| 28 Mar 2020 | Black Hawk | Tornado | EF unrated | — | — | — |
| 25 May 2020 | Polk | Tornado | EF1 | — | — | — |
| 26 May 2020 | Boone | Tornado | EF unrated | — | — | — |
| 26 May 2020 | Boone | Tornado | EF unrated | — | — | — |
| 28 Mar 2020 | Black Hawk | Tornado | EF unrated | — | — | — |
| 10 Aug 2020 | Linn | Tornado | EF unrated | — | — | — |
| 18 Jun 2020 | Kossuth | Tornado | EF unrated | — | — | — |
| 23 May 2020 | Jones | Tornado | EF unrated | — | — | — |
| 23 May 2020 | Cedar | Tornado | EF1 | — | — | — |
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 2020
| Declared | Number | Type | Incident | Title | Counties |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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 |
Flood insurance claims with a 2020 date of loss
35 NFIP claims, 28 of them paid, for $316,394.
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.