Lowden, IA Natural Disasters and Weather Extremes
Hot Rankings
The chance of earthquake damage in Lowden is about the same as Iowa average and is much lower than the national average. The risk of tornado damage in Lowden is higher than Iowa average and is much higher than the national average.
Earthquake Index, #150
| Lowden, IA | 0.01 |
| Iowa | 0.00 |
| U.S. | 1.81 |
The earthquake index value is calculated based on historical earthquake events data using USA.com algorithms. It is an indicator of the earthquake level in a region. A higher earthquake index value means a higher chance of an earthquake.
Volcano Index, #1
| Lowden, IA | 0.0000 |
| Iowa | 0.0000 |
| U.S. | 0.0023 |
The volcano index value is calculated based on the currently known volcanoes using USA.com algorithms. It is an indicator of the possibility of a region being affected by a possible volcano eruption. A higher volcano index value means a higher chance of being affected.
Tornado Index, #281
| Lowden, IA | 256.83 |
| Iowa | 236.74 |
| U.S. | 136.45 |
The tornado index value is calculated based on historical tornado events data using USA.com algorithms. It is an indicator of the tornado level in a region. A higher tornado index value means a higher chance of tornado events.
Other Weather Extremes Events
A total of 4,856 other weather extremes events within 50 miles of Lowden, IA were recorded from 1950 to 2010. The following is a break down of these events:
| Type | Count | Type | Count | Type | Count | Type | Count | Type | Count |
| Avalanche: | 0 | Blizzard: | 20 | Cold: | 57 | Dense Fog: | 35 | Drought: | 26 |
| Dust Storm: | 0 | Flood: | 516 | Hail: | 1,195 | Heat: | 17 | Heavy Snow: | 87 |
| High Surf: | 0 | Hurricane: | 0 | Ice Storm: | 49 | Landslide: | 1 | Strong Wind: | 72 |
| Thunderstorm Winds: | 2,110 | Tropical Storm: | 0 | Wildfire: | 0 | Winter Storm: | 141 | Winter Weather: | 161 |
| Other: | 369 | ||||||||
Volcanos Nearby
No volcano is found in or near Lowden, IA.
Historical Earthquake Events
No historical earthquake events that had recorded magnitudes of 3.5 or above found in or near Lowden, IA.
No historical earthquake events found in or near Lowden, IA.
Historical Tornado Events
A total of 106 historical tornado events that had recorded magnitude of 2 or above found in or near Lowden, IA.
| Distance (miles) | Date | Magnitude | Start Lat/Log | End Lat/Log | Length | Width | Fatalities | Injuries | Property Damage | Crop Damage | Affected County |
| 6.2 | 1967-01-24 | 2 | 41°48'N / 90°50'W | 2.00 Miles | 150 Yards | 0 | 0 | 25K | 0 | Clinton | |
| 7.8 | 1991-03-22 | 2 | 41°53'N / 90°51'W | 41°58'N / 90°45'W | 7.00 Miles | 60 Yards | 0 | 0 | 2.5M | 0 | Clinton |
| 8.7 | 1961-06-07 | 2 | 41°42'N / 90°58'W | 41°46'N / 90°54'W | 5.10 Miles | 200 Yards | 0 | 1 | 25K | 0 | Cedar |
| 8.7 | 1992-07-13 | 2 | 41°58'N / 91°04'W | 41°59'N / 90°55'W | 5.70 Miles | 73 Yards | 0 | 0 | 2.5M | 0 | Jones |
| 9.6 | 1967-01-24 | 2 | 41°47'N / 90°46'W | 2.00 Miles | 143 Yards | 0 | 0 | 25K | 0 | Scott | |
| 9.8 | 1975-11-09 | 2 | 41°54'N / 90°53'W | 42°02'N / 90°43'W | 12.30 Miles | 200 Yards | 0 | 2 | 250K | 0 | Clinton |
| 10.7 | 1988-05-08 | 3 | 41°45'N / 90°47'W | 41°46'N / 90°45'W | 2.00 Miles | 150 Yards | 0 | 0 | 25.0M | 0 | Scott |
| 12.5 | 1995-07-27 | 2 | 41°45'N / 90°47'W | 41°43'N / 90°43'W | 5.50 Miles | 60 Yards | 0 | 0 | 10K | 70K | Scott |
| 12.8 | 1995-07-27 | 2 | 41°56'N / 90°45'W | 41°49'N / 90°36'W | 10.50 Miles | 70 Yards | 0 | 0 | 200K | 150K | Clinton |
| 13.2 | 1988-05-08 | 2 | 41°42'N / 91°10'W | 41°46'N / 91°04'W | 7.00 Miles | 90 Yards | 0 | 0 | 2.5M | 0 | Cedar |
| 14.7 | 1995-05-09 | 3 | 41°35'N / 90°52'W | 41°43'N / 90°53'W | 10.00 Miles | 75 Yards | 0 | 0 | 650K | 0 | Muscatine |
| 15.6 | 1966-05-23 | 2 | 41°41'N / 90°44'W | 2.00 Miles | 250 Yards | 0 | 0 | 25K | 0 | Scott | |
| 16.5 | 1998-05-15 | 3 | 41°37'N / 91°21'W | 41°53'N / 91°04'W | 15.00 Miles | 400 Yards | 0 | 2 | 2K | 0 | Cedar |
| Brief Description: A tornado developed two miles Southwest of Washington Iowa and produced a 30 mile long continuous path of damage and debris as it moved to the Northeast at nearly 30 mph. The tornado weakened and lifted before reaching I-80 near West Branch Iowa shortly before 6pm. The tornado continued Northeast across Cedar County Iowa producing another 15 miles of isolated damage...not continuous. The storm producing this tornado continued Northeast producing a brief touchdown one mile west of Oxford Mills Iowa near the intersection of county roads E53 and X64. Another brief touchdown occurred south of Dubuque near Zwingle Iowa before the storm moved into Wisconsin. In Washington Iowa extensive damage was reported to businesses, a church, numerous homes, an apartment complex housing elderly residents and a livestock sale barn. Fourteen single family homes were destroyed, another fourteen received major damage and forty five reported minor damage. Three multi-family housing units were destroyed and two received major damage. Twenty six detached units (sheds and garages) were destroyed or sustained major damage. Across Washington county fourteen farmsteads were hit by the tornado with damage ranging from moderate to heavy. Utility damage was listed at $218,000. In the city of Washington twenty seven individuals sustained minor injuries requiring medical treatment. One person was hospitalized for treatment of injuries he received when his automobile was picked up and rolled over by the tornado. In Johnson County twenty miles of power lines and poles were damaged, fifteen roads were closed due to debris and one bridge was destroyed. Six residences were destroyed, eight more sustained minor the major damage, and three farms were affected. Seventeen people were treated and released for injuries in Johnson County. In Cedar County moderate to heavy damage was reported to five different properties as the tornado destroyed a home, barns, grain bins, machine and hog sheds, a hog nursery and a chicken coop. Two persons near Downey suffered injuries requiring stitches when bricks and debris fell upon them while they were taking shelter in their basement. | |||||||||||
| 17.0 | 1962-05-07 | 3 | 41°40'N / 90°43'W | 10.00 Miles | 300 Yards | 0 | 0 | 250K | 0 | Scott | |
| 18.2 | 1975-11-09 | 2 | 42°03'N / 90°43'W | 42°04'N / 90°40'W | 1.30 Miles | 200 Yards | 0 | 2 | 250K | 0 | Jackson |
| 18.9 | 1995-05-09 | 2 | 41°49'N / 91°19'W | 41°54'N / 91°16'W | 7.00 Miles | 100 Yards | 0 | 0 | 500K | 0 | Cedar |
| 19.4 | 1953-05-20 | 3 | 42°01'N / 91°23'W | 42°05'N / 91°01'W | 19.20 Miles | 400 Yards | 0 | 3 | 0K | 0 | Jones |
| 19.6 | 1957-05-21 | 2 | 41°33'N / 91°00'W | 41°36'N / 90°50'W | 8.90 Miles | 100 Yards | 0 | 0 | 250K | 0 | Cedar |
| 21.5 | 1995-07-27 | 2 | 41°39'N / 91°17'W | 41°36'N / 91°07'W | 7.50 Miles | 100 Yards | 0 | 0 | 500K | 60K | Cedar |
| Brief Description: A vary dynamic weather pattern was in place across Iowa. The air mass was very unstable with total total indices of 61, K indices over 30, and helicity values over 600 m2-s-2. Soundings at 1200 UTC already indicated lifted indices of -7ø C. Moisture pooling was taking place ahead of a windshift line which extended north to south across central Nebraska at sunrise. Dew point values rose to around 80ø F. over most of Iowa in the morning. A strong cap was in place with 700 mb temps nearing +15ø C. This held convection to a minimum. Thunderstorms had formed the previous night across South Dakota and advanced into southern Minnesota. They slid southeast and moved into north central Iowa during the late morning hours. Golf ball-size hail pelted Worth County northeast of Northwood. A short time later a second cell dropped dime-size hail on the area. The storms advanced southeast producing hail and gusty winds. Most of the activity was just below severe limits. When the storms reached Clayton County, dime size hail was reported in Luana. Meanwhile, in Garnavillo high winds were a problem. Several trees and numerous power lines were downed in the city as the gust front passed. In addition to the first cluster of storms that slid southeast, a line of thunderstorms formed quickly on its heels ahead of the trough/windshift line. These storms quickly became severe in the unstable air mass and joined with the aforementioned cluster of storms. Once the storms became severe, they produced considerable damage. Hail up to baseball-size, very high winds, and tornadoes resulted. There were several small tornadoes and one gustnado produced by the line. Of the more significant tornadoes, one tracked across Buchanan and Delaware Counties and caused damage to many out buildings. The tornado struck a few farmsteads directly and damaged many others. Considerable damage was reported along its path. One house was destroyed, two others sustained about $25 thousand damage each, five others sustained about $20 thousand damage, and a mobile home was destroyed worth $10 thousand. A grain elevator was struck near Lamont with damage placed to it at $500 thousand. A total of 19 farmsteads sustained damage in the county. Crop damage by the tornado was also severe with damage described as if "someone went through the fields with a Weedeater". Two head of cattle were killed near Lamont when the barn they were in collapsed. Another tornado that was on the ground for a significant length of time tracked across Clinton County. Other significant tornadoes struck Scott and Muscatine Counties. Straight line winds caused considerable damage in Delaware County. There were numerous reports of livestock killed or injured by fallen barns. Three hogs were crushed on a farm near Hopkinton for example. Damage from straight line winds alone in the county were placed near two and one half million dollars. Damage was very extensive around the Hopkinton area with many farmsteads affected and some nearly wiped out. Estimates from the entire Quad Cities metro area range to around $5 million. There was also considerable damage in Jones County from high winds. Wind gusts of at least 85 MPH destroyed 24 mobile homes and three permanent homes in Monticello. There was also damage reported to several other houses and businesses in the area. Other wind damage in the Monticello area included three silos destroyed, two large barns downed, two machine sheds, a corn crib, and six open sheds. Three head of cattle were killed as one of the barns collapsed on them. In another incident, a horse stable was blown down by the winds. One horse was killed as the stable toppled down on it. Also, in Monticello, a man was injured as high winds downed a tree on top of his car. Reports indicated the total property damage in the Monticello area were at least $1.8 million and were expected to top the $2 million mark. Estimates of crop damage due to the wind totaled close to $1 million across Jones County. Cedar County, winds of 90 to 95 MPH in close proximity to a tornado in the area destroyed one house and several buildings north of Atalissa. The tornado itself hit one farmstead north of the Atalissa area. Reports indicated food was sucked out of the refrigerator and boards were taken out of loaded grain wagons. When the house was hit, a letter from the attic was picked up shortly before 1900CST. The letter was retrieved at 1940CST; 40 miles from its original location in the Quad Cities. There were numerous reports of small rope tornadoes around the Lowden area. Two are included in this report. The tornado northwest of town touched down briefly in an open field. There were actually three separate touchdowns from one parent cloud within a period of several minutes. A local network of spotters in the county observed 24 funnel clouds. In addition to the tornadoes and winds, hail was a major problem. There were numerous reports of one to two-inch diameter hail. There were also several reports of baseball-size hail. In Clinton County, Grand Mound and DeWitt were pelted with baseball-size hail causing considerable damage. The airport at Clinton sustained damage by baseball-size hail as well. In Calamus, baseball-size hail fell on the city. The hail in combination with the wind damaged cars, knocking out windows. Windows were also knocked out of several buildings in the city. Hail also caused considerable crop damage in east central Iowa. Five thousand acres of corn and soybeans were totally destroyed, 10,000 acres slightly damaged, 50 hogs killed, and 10 head of cattle killed in a three county area. The Governor declared Buchanan, Delaware, and Jones Counties disaster areas. Damage and losses totaled into the millions. Earlier in the afternoon, lightning struck a barn in Winneshiek County near Castalia. The barn was a total loss as it burned to the ground. | |||||||||||
| 22.1 | 1991-03-22 | 2 | 41°39'N / 91°20'W | 41°40'N / 91°11'W | 10.00 Miles | 80 Yards | 0 | 0 | 250K | 0 | Cedar |
| 22.4 | 1966-05-23 | 2 | 41°36'N / 91°16'W | 41°39'N / 91°11'W | 4.90 Miles | 350 Yards | 0 | 0 | 250K | 0 | Muscatine |
| 23.2 | 1995-05-09 | 3 | 41°32'N / 90°49'W | 7.00 Miles | 500 Yards | 0 | 0 | 3.0M | 0 | Scott | |
| Brief Description: This tornado destroyed 26 farm buildings, 20 of them with major damage. Nine homes were hit, one destroyed, two with major damage and six with minor damage. Seven of the nine homes were farmhouses. Roxanne Paper, with baby boy Logan in arm, was downstairs when the tornado struck. She reported that it sounded like something big was tearing through the house. The Gary Meincke farm was hit very hard. He and his wife watched the tornado touch down south of their farm at around 1630 CDT. Shortly after that they ran with their children to the basement. Debris from the Leroy Feldhahn farm near Stockton was spread over nearby Interstate 80 causing a two mile long traffic jam. Governor Terry Branstad later proclaimed a Disaster Emergency for Scott County. | |||||||||||
| 23.3 | 1988-05-08 | 3 | 41°46'N / 90°45'W | 41°52'N / 90°12'W | 30.00 Miles | 150 Yards | 0 | 0 | 25.0M | 0 | Clinton |
| 23.4 | 1974-05-13 | 3 | 41°37'N / 90°36'W | 41°40'N / 90°33'W | 3.60 Miles | 100 Yards | 0 | 0 | 2.5M | 0 | Scott |
| 23.8 | 1992-07-13 | 3 | 42°11'N / 91°08'W | 42°11'N / 91°02'W | 5.00 Miles | 73 Yards | 0 | 0 | 2.5M | 0 | Jones |
| 24.2 | 1967-01-24 | 2 | 41°37'N / 90°35'W | 2.00 Miles | 250 Yards | 0 | 0 | 250K | 0 | Scott | |
| 24.7 | 1967-05-07 | 2 | 41°32'N / 90°54'W | 41°29'N / 90°45'W | 8.00 Miles | 200 Yards | 0 | 0 | 25K | 0 | Muscatine |
| 25.1 | 2001-06-14 | 2 | 41°29'N / 90°47'W | 41°33'N / 90°44'W | 6.40 Miles | 200 Yards | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | Scott |
| Brief Description: An F2 tornado touched down at 501 pm CST, around a half mile east/northeast of Montpelier, near Highway 22 and the Muscatine/Scott County line. The tornado then tracked northeast into Scott County, was on the ground about 6.5 miles, and was 200 yards wide. The tornado ripped the roof off of three homes in Blue Grass, and produced lesser damage to many other homes. Three people in Blue Grass sustained minor injuries. The tornado produced F2 damage in the area around Normandy Street in Blue Grass, before lifting 2.5 miles northeast of the community at 506 pm CST. | |||||||||||
| 25.2 | 1974-04-28 | 2 | 41°38'N / 91°21'W | 41°39'N / 91°17'W | 2.30 Miles | 100 Yards | 0 | 16 | 250K | 0 | Cedar |
| 25.7 | 2008-04-25 | 2 | 41°31'N / 91°15'W | 41°34'N / 91°07'W | 7.00 Miles | 150 Yards | 0 | 0 | 200K | 0K | Muscatine |
| Brief Description: EVENT NARRATIVE: This tornado touched down 5.2 miles northeast of Nichols and tracked to the northeast before lifting 2 miles west of Moscow. The EF2 tornado was on the ground for 6.5 miles, had maximum winds to 115 mph and was 150 yards wide. There were 5 farmsteads that were hit by the tornado, but no injuries were reported. Siding and shingles of two homes were peeled off. Outbuildings were damaged, a machine shed and grain bin destroyed, and a wooden swingset toppled. Utility poles were snapped or blown down, while several trees were snapped or uprooted. EPISODE NARRATIVE: Strong low pressure tracked from western Kansas to western Wisconsin on April 24-25, 2008. A warm front moving across the region brought heavy rain and flash flooding to areas north of I-80. Then an impressive cold front swept across eastern Iowa and northwest Illinois. This front triggered severe thunderstorms which produced two tornadoes, large hail and damaging winds. | |||||||||||
| 27.8 | 2001-06-14 | 2 | 41°28'N / 90°48'W | 41°28'N / 90°48'W | 0.10 Mile | 200 Yards | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Muscatine |
| Brief Description: An F2 tornado touched down at 501 pm CST, around a half mile east/northeast of Montpelier, near Highway 22 and the Muscatine/Scott County line. The tornado then tracked northeast into Scott County, was on the ground about 6.5 miles, and was 200 yards wide. The tornado ripped the roof off of three homes in Blue Grass, and produced lesser damage to many other homes. Three people in Blue Grass sustained minor injuries. The tornado produced F2 damage in the area around Normandy Street in Blue Grass, before lifting 2.5 miles northeast of the community at 506 pm CST. | |||||||||||
| 28.6 | 1967-01-24 | 2 | 41°52'N / 90°22'W | 1.00 Mile | 200 Yards | 0 | 0 | 25K | 0 | Clinton | |
| 28.7 | 1991-03-22 | 2 | 41°32'N / 91°22'W | 41°39'N / 91°20'W | 4.00 Miles | 80 Yards | 0 | 0 | 250K | 0 | Johnson |
| 29.9 | 1953-05-20 | 3 | 41°59'N / 91°34'W | 42°01'N / 91°23'W | 9.40 Miles | 400 Yards | 0 | 4 | 0K | 0 | Linn |
| 31.0 | 1967-01-24 | 2 | 41°57'N / 90°20'W | 0 | 0 | 250K | 0 | Clinton | |||
| 31.0 | 1958-07-29 | 2 | 42°20'N / 91°05'W | 42°17'N / 90°48'W | 14.50 Miles | 200 Yards | 0 | 0 | 25K | 0 | Dubuque |
| 32.3 | 1962-05-22 | 2 | 41°39'N / 91°32'W | 41°42'N / 91°28'W | 4.10 Miles | 800 Yards | 1 | 0 | 250K | 0 | Johnson |
| 33.0 | 1991-03-27 | 2 | 42°17'N / 90°42'W | 42°19'N / 90°39'W | 1.00 Mile | 100 Yards | 0 | 1 | 250K | 0 | Dubuque |
| 33.0 | 1966-04-19 | 3 | 41°30'N / 90°30'W | 2.00 Miles | 100 Yards | 0 | 0 | 250K | 0 | Scott | |
| 33.7 | 2007-06-01 | 3 | 41°19'N / 91°07'W | 41°27'N / 91°01'W | 10.00 Miles | 774 Yards | 0 | 6 | 15.0M | 0K | Muscatine |
| Brief Description: EVENT NARRATIVE: A tornado entered into Muscatine County from Louisa County just south of Fruitland, IA. It progressed to the northeast through the center of Fruitland destroying the post office and city hall building, numerous homes, and overturning some railroad cars. The tornado weakened as it approached the southwest portions of Muscatine. In Muscatine, the western sections of town had varying degrees of damage, which was mainly confined to roof damage. At a car dealership, some cars were displaced. The tornado eventually lifted on the northeast side of Muscatine near the junction of highways 22 and 61. Debris from Muscatine and Fruitland fell in Lowden, IA. Some personal papers were found 1 to 4 miles northwest of Lowden. Lowden is approximately 30 miles NNE of Muscatine. EPISODE NARRATIVE: A line of thunderstorms pivoted northeast into parts of southeast Iowa during the mid-morning hours of June 1st. Much of the area was just breaking out of a blanket of dense fog where visibilities dropped to less than a quarter mile. Dew point temperatures were in the middle 60s to around 70 degrees. The line of storms appeared to become more broken through the late morning hours, while the area from Iowa City to Waterloo appeared to stratify out into a large area of showers. Just before 12:00 pm CDT, rapid intensification of storm cells on the southeast end of the original line occurred as it moved into northern portions of Louisa County. A tornado touched down just south of Grandview, IA and moved northeast through Fruitland, IA and on to the southwest parts of Muscatine, IA. The tornado then lifted and as the storm cell continued to move northeast across Muscatine County. The super-cell re-intensified as it entered the southeast part of Cedar County just before 1 pm producing a brief tornado near Wilton, IA. The storm then moved across northwest parts of Scott County and Clinton County producing damaging wind gusts and large hail. The super-cell continued northeast into Jackson County producing a tornado near Bellevue around 2:30 pm, which moved across the Mississippi River into Jo Daviess County before lifting. The storm produced yet another tornado just south of Scales Mound, IL around 3:15 pm before moving into southwest Wisconsin and dissipating. During the early afternoon hours, additional storms strengthened on the south end of the original line of storms, which went on to produce wind damage and large hail as they moved through northwest Illinois through the late afternoon hours. | |||||||||||
| 33.9 | 1972-09-28 | 2 | 42°17'N / 91°22'W | 42°25'N / 90°33'W | 42.60 Miles | 2200 Yards | 0 | 0 | 2.5M | 0 | Jones |
| 34.5 | 1965-04-11 | 4 | 41°51'N / 90°56'W | 42°52'N / 90°55'W | 70.20 Miles | 200 Yards | 1 | 0 | 2.5M | 0 | Cedar |
| 34.7 | 1954-04-30 | 2 | 42°13'N / 91°12'W | 42°27'N / 91°06'W | 16.60 Miles | 50 Yards | 0 | 0 | 0K | 0 | Jones |
| 34.8 | 1964-05-04 | 2 | 42°07'N / 91°28'W | 42°09'N / 91°31'W | 2.30 Miles | 200 Yards | 0 | 1 | 250K | 0 | Linn |
| 34.8 | 1955-04-19 | 2 | 42°16'N / 90°41'W | 42°16'N / 90°22'W | 15.90 Miles | 50 Yards | 0 | 0 | 3K | 0 | Jackson |
| 34.9 | 2006-04-13 | 2 | 41°40'N / 91°33'W | 41°40'N / 91°33'W | 4.50 Miles | 587 Yards | 0 | 30 | 12.0M | 0 | Johnson |
| Brief Description: Rated very high F2 with winds estimated at 155 mph. Tornado developed at the intersection of highways 1 & 218 on the southwest side of Iowa City at 1929 CST and tracked northeast through the city before lifting just northeast of the intersection of 1st Avenue & Hickory Trail at 1937 CST. This path took it through the southeast corner of the University of Iowa campus. This was the first tornado to hit near the campus in 35 years and the University was closed on Friday April 14th for safety reasons. The KIOW ASOS at the airport on the southwest side of the city recorded a peak wind gust of 49 knots (57 mph) at 1931 CST. This gust was likely the result of the rear flank downdraft as the tornado neared the intersection of U.S. 6 and highway 1 northeast of the airport. Hard times for the location of the tornado are 1930 CST at the Wal-Mart. At 1932-1933 CST power was lost at the Johnson County Sheriff Office with telephone lines, LAN, and automated systems going down as the tornado passed over the building. While the tornado was passing over the sheriff's office, someone flipped the outdoor warning sirens from automatic to manual override and activated the sirens one final time. Damage totals are still being evaluated and the $12 million amount will likely be closer to $15 million or possibly higher. Known damage amounts include; Iowa City and Johnson County $4 million with an additional $755,000 of uninsured loses (traffic lights, signs, street lights), University of Iowa $6 million with the motor pool headquarters a total loss and 31 vehicles damaged, and $1.3 million in damage to residences/businesses. Three automobile dealerships were damaged; one dealership had 200 vehicles damaged, a second had 60-70 vehicles damaged, and a third had nearly every vehicle sustaining some type of damage. A total of 1,016 residential and 35 commercial buildings were damaged with some destroyed. Some well known landmark buildings known to citizens, college students, and alumni were lost or heavily damaged. These included the Dairy Queen (lost) and St. Patrick's Church (heavily damaged). Several historic buildings were damaged downtown and it is unknown whether or not they can or will be saved. The tornado damaged the Alpha Chi Omega sorority house and damaged many student apartments located just off the campus on Iowa, Dodge, and Governor streets. Given the strength and width of the tornado it is amazing that only 30 injuries (many minor) occurred. Many U of I students were unaware of what was happening or dashed to a nearby parking garage for safety with the tornado approaching a few blocks behind them. Several foreign exchange students, many of whom had never seen, experienced, or heard of a tornado, were in awe and disbelief over the magnitude of the event. At St. Patrick's Church, the Maundy Thursday evening service had just ended. Upon being told of an approaching tornado by Decon Jerome Miller, the Reverend Rudolph Juarez ushered 50 to 75 parishioners (many elderly) to the safety of the rectory basement next door. This action saved the lives of everyone as the tornado tore off the roof off the church and collapsed the top portion of the brick facade and the steeple into the main congregation area. | |||||||||||
| 35.3 | 1991-03-27 | 2 | 42°19'N / 90°39'W | 42°20'N / 90°38'W | 0.50 Mile | 100 Yards | 0 | 0 | 250K | 0 | Jackson |
| 35.3 | 1990-03-13 | 3 | 41°37'N / 90°20'W | 41°46'N / 90°13'W | 12.00 Miles | 250 Yards | 0 | 1 | 2.5M | 0 | Rock Island |
| 35.5 | 1960-11-15 | 2 | 42°16'N / 90°30'W | 1.00 Mile | 50 Yards | 0 | 0 | 3K | 0 | Jackson | |
| 35.5 | 1990-03-13 | 4 | 42°14'N / 91°25'W | 42°16'N / 91°20'W | 4.00 Miles | 200 Yards | 0 | 0 | 25.0M | 0 | Linn |
| 35.6 | 1998-05-15 | 3 | 41°31'N / 91°30'W | 41°37'N / 91°29'W | 14.00 Miles | 400 Yards | 0 | 17 | 6.0M | 0 | Johnson |
| Brief Description: A tornado developed two miles Southwest of Washington Iowa and produced a 30 mile long continuous path of damage and debris as it moved to the Northeast at nearly 30 mph. The tornado weakened and lifted before reaching I-80 near West Branch Iowa shortly before 6pm. The tornado continued Northeast across Cedar County Iowa producing another 15 miles of isolated damage...not continuous. The storm producing this tornado continued Northeast producing a brief touchdown one mile west of Oxford Mills Iowa near the intersection of county roads E53 and X64. Another brief touchdown occurred south of Dubuque near Zwingle Iowa before the storm moved into Wisconsin. In Washington Iowa extensive damage was reported to businesses, a church, numerous homes, an apartment complex housing elderly residents and a livestock sale barn. Fourteen single family homes were destroyed, another fourteen received major damage and forty five reported minor damage. Three multi-family housing units were destroyed and two received major damage. Twenty six detached units (sheds and garages) were destroyed or sustained major damage. Across Washington county fourteen farmsteads were hit by the tornado with damage ranging from moderate to heavy. Utility damage was listed at $218,000. In the city of Washington twenty seven individuals sustained minor injuries requiring medical treatment. One person was hospitalized for treatment of injuries he received when his automobile was picked up and rolled over by the tornado. In Johnson County twenty miles of power lines and poles were damaged, fifteen roads were closed due to debris and one bridge was destroyed. Six residences were destroyed, eight more sustained minor the major damage, and three farms were affected. Seventeen people were treated and released for injuries in Johnson County. In Cedar County moderate to heavy damage was reported to five different properties as the tornado destroyed a home, barns, grain bins, machine and hog sheds, a hog nursery and a chicken coop. Two persons near Downey suffered injuries requiring stitches when bricks and debris fell upon them while they were taking shelter in their basement. | |||||||||||
| 35.6 | 1988-05-08 | 2 | 41°42'N / 91°49'W | 41°52'N / 91°24'W | 27.00 Miles | 60 Yards | 0 | 0 | 2.5M | 0 | Johnson |
| 35.6 | 1974-06-20 | 3 | 41°59'N / 90°16'W | 41°50'N / 90°12'W | 10.60 Miles | 200 Yards | 1 | 20 | 2.5M | 0 | Clinton |
| 36.0 | 1990-03-13 | 4 | 42°16'N / 91°20'W | 42°20'N / 91°16'W | 5.00 Miles | 200 Yards | 0 | 0 | 25.0M | 0 | Jones |
| 36.1 | 1990-03-13 | 3 | 41°36'N / 90°17'W | 41°37'N / 90°20'W | 0.50 Mile | 73 Yards | 0 | 0 | 250K | 0 | Scott |
| 36.6 | 2007-06-01 | 2 | 42°12'N / 90°25'W | 42°15'N / 90°24'W | 3.00 Miles | 350 Yards | 0 | 0 | 3.3M | 0K | Jackson |
| Brief Description: EVENT NARRATIVE: A tornado touched down about 3.5 miles south of Bellevue, IA. It moved north to county road Z15 and then northeast crossing the Mississippi River just south of Lock and Dam 12 into Jo Daviess County Illinois. Along the path, damage consisted of snapped and uprooted trees, farm out buildings, and roofs. The most significant damage occurred near the junction of county highway Z15 and 407th Avenue. A mobile home was rolled over and destroyed. The residents of the mobile home had taken shelter in the farm house about 100 feet away. The farm house only had damaged gutters. EPISODE NARRATIVE: A line of thunderstorms pivoted northeast into parts of southeast Iowa during the mid-morning hours of June 1st. Much of the area was just breaking out of a blanket of dense fog where visibilities dropped to less than a quarter mile. Dew point temperatures were in the middle 60s to around 70 degrees. The line of storms appeared to become more broken through the late morning hours, while the area from Iowa City to Waterloo appeared to stratify out into a large area of showers. Just before 12:00 pm CDT, rapid intensification of storm cells on the southeast end of the original line occurred as it moved into northern portions of Louisa County. A tornado touched down just south of Grandview, IA and moved northeast through Fruitland, IA and on to the southwest parts of Muscatine, IA. The tornado then lifted and as the storm cell continued to move northeast across Muscatine County. The super-cell re-intensified as it entered the southeast part of Cedar County just before 1 pm producing a brief tornado near Wilton, IA. The storm then moved across northwest parts of Scott County and Clinton County producing damaging wind gusts and large hail. The super-cell continued northeast into Jackson County producing a tornado near Bellevue around 2:30 pm, which moved across the Mississippi River into Jo Daviess County before lifting. The storm produced yet another tornado just south of Scales Mound, IL around 3:15 pm before moving into southwest Wisconsin and dissipating. During the early afternoon hours, additional storms strengthened on the south end of the original line of storms, which went on to produce wind damage and large hail as they moved through northwest Illinois through the late afternoon hours. | |||||||||||
| 37.1 | 1966-10-14 | 2 | 42°03'N / 91°36'W | 5.00 Miles | 33 Yards | 0 | 0 | 250K | 0 | Linn | |
| 37.3 | 1990-03-13 | 4 | 42°20'N / 91°16'W | 42°23'N / 91°08'W | 9.00 Miles | 200 Yards | 0 | 0 | 25.0M | 0 | Delaware |
| 37.4 | 1990-03-13 | 3 | 41°46'N / 90°13'W | 41°46'N / 90°12'W | 3.00 Miles | 250 Yards | 0 | 0 | 2.5M | 0 | Whiteside |
| 37.4 | 1967-04-30 | 2 | 42°24'N / 90°54'W | 2.00 Miles | 400 Yards | 0 | 0 | 250K | 0 | Dubuque | |
| 37.4 | 1959-08-26 | 2 | 41°36'N / 90°17'W | 41°41'N / 90°14'W | 5.60 Miles | 50 Yards | 0 | 0 | 25K | 0 | Rock Island |
| 37.4 | 1964-05-04 | 2 | 42°20'N / 91°15'W | 42°23'N / 91°10'W | 4.70 Miles | 200 Yards | 0 | 2 | 250K | 0 | Delaware |
| 37.6 | 1969-06-29 | 2 | 42°24'N / 91°00'W | 0 | 0 | 25K | 0 | Dubuque | |||
| 37.7 | 1978-08-15 | 3 | 41°20'N / 90°41'W | 41°21'N / 90°42'W | 0 | 0 | 250K | 0 | Rock Island | ||
| 38.2 | 1990-03-13 | 4 | 42°23'N / 91°08'W | 42°24'N / 91°07'W | 1.00 Mile | 200 Yards | 0 | 0 | 25.0M | 0 | Dubuque |
| 38.5 | 1973-04-21 | 2 | 41°20'N / 90°39'W | 41°26'N / 90°25'W | 13.60 Miles | 33 Yards | 0 | 2 | 2.5M | 0 | Rock Island |
| 38.6 | 2003-07-20 | 2 | 42°00'N / 91°39'W | 42°00'N / 91°39'W | 0.30 Mile | 200 Yards | 0 | 0 | 2.0M | 0 | Linn |
| Brief Description: Strong F2...winds estimated at 140 mph. Tornado touched down near the intersection of Zelda Drive and E Avenue Northwest. The tornado moved southeast for 0.25 miles across Peace Avenue and then lifted on Floral Avenue. The tornado reached peak intensity on Peace Avenue where F2 winds unroofed 3 homes, and 26 other homes were heavily damaged. This was the first tornado inside the Cedar Rapids city limits since 1965. | |||||||||||
| 38.9 | 1974-06-14 | 3 | 41°23'N / 90°40'W | 41°18'N / 90°35'W | 6.80 Miles | 33 Yards | 0 | 0 | 0K | 0 | Rock Island |
| 39.7 | 1973-04-21 | 2 | 41°16'N / 90°50'W | 41°20'N / 90°39'W | 10.20 Miles | 33 Yards | 0 | 0 | 2.5M | 0 | Mercer |
| 39.8 | 1954-04-30 | 2 | 40°48'N / 91°25'W | 41°50'N / 90°57'W | 75.30 Miles | 200 Yards | 0 | 0 | 25K | 0 | Des Moines |
| 39.8 | 1978-08-15 | 3 | 41°16'N / 90°47'W | 41°20'N / 90°41'W | 6.40 Miles | 77 Yards | 0 | 0 | 250K | 0 | Mercer |
| 39.9 | 1954-04-30 | 2 | 41°40'N / 92°00'W | 42°28'N / 91°18'W | 65.80 Miles | 200 Yards | 0 | 0 | 0K | 0 | Iowa |
| 40.2 | 1973-04-21 | 2 | 41°26'N / 90°25'W | 41°29'N / 90°18'W | 6.40 Miles | 33 Yards | 0 | 0 | 2.5M | 0 | Henry |
| 40.9 | 2007-06-01 | 3 | 41°16'N / 91°11'W | 41°19'N / 91°07'W | 6.00 Miles | 774 Yards | 0 | 1 | 1.0M | 0K | Louisa |
| Brief Description: EVENT NARRATIVE: The tornado touched down on the southern edge of Grandview. It moved through the center of town intensifying in rural areas as it approached the county line. In Grandview, several homes sustained severe damage. North of Grandview, about 1.5 miles, a farm house was completely destroyed. Other homes and trees along the path sustained damage. The tornado crossed the Louisa-Muscatine county line just south of Fruitland, IA. EPISODE NARRATIVE: A line of thunderstorms pivoted northeast into parts of southeast Iowa during the mid-morning hours of June 1st. Much of the area was just breaking out of a blanket of dense fog where visibilities dropped to less than a quarter mile. Dew point temperatures were in the middle 60s to around 70 degrees. The line of storms appeared to become more broken through the late morning hours, while the area from Iowa City to Waterloo appeared to stratify out into a large area of showers. Just before 12:00 pm CDT, rapid intensification of storm cells on the southeast end of the original line occurred as it moved into northern portions of Louisa County. A tornado touched down just south of Grandview, IA and moved northeast through Fruitland, IA and on to the southwest parts of Muscatine, IA. The tornado then lifted and as the storm cell continued to move northeast across Muscatine County. The super-cell re-intensified as it entered the southeast part of Cedar County just before 1 pm producing a brief tornado near Wilton, IA. The storm then moved across northwest parts of Scott County and Clinton County producing damaging wind gusts and large hail. The super-cell continued northeast into Jackson County producing a tornado near Bellevue around 2:30 pm, which moved across the Mississippi River into Jo Daviess County before lifting. The storm produced yet another tornado just south of Scales Mound, IL around 3:15 pm before moving into southwest Wisconsin and dissipating. During the early afternoon hours, additional storms strengthened on the south end of the original line of storms, which went on to produce wind damage and large hail as they moved through northwest Illinois through the late afternoon hours. | |||||||||||
| 41.6 | 1966-06-05 | 2 | 42°17'N / 91°30'W | 0 | 0 | 0K | 0 | Linn | |||
| 42.1 | 1971-07-12 | 3 | 42°18'N / 91°31'W | 42°18'N / 91°28'W | 0 | 2 | 2.5M | 0 | Delaware | ||
| 42.6 | 1972-09-28 | 2 | 42°12'N / 91°47'W | 42°17'N / 91°22'W | 21.90 Miles | 2200 Yards | 0 | 3 | 2.5M | 0 | Linn |
| 42.9 | 1988-05-08 | 2 | 41°20'N / 91°26'W | 41°23'N / 91°24'W | 7.00 Miles | 60 Yards | 0 | 0 | 25.0M | 0 | Louisa |
| 42.9 | 1967-01-24 | 2 | 41°18'N / 91°22'W | 41°21'N / 91°20'W | 3.00 Miles | 250 Yards | 0 | 0 | 0K | 0 | Louisa |
| 43.0 | 1965-05-26 | 2 | 41°52'N / 91°54'W | 42°03'N / 91°36'W | 19.80 Miles | 33 Yards | 0 | 14 | 250K | 0 | Linn |
| 43.0 | 1956-04-26 | 2 | 41°29'N / 90°22'W | 41°29'N / 90°09'W | 10.90 Miles | 33 Yards | 0 | 0 | 250K | 0 | Henry |
| 43.1 | 1974-05-16 | 2 | 41°20'N / 90°33'W | 41°21'N / 90°22'W | 9.20 Miles | 100 Yards | 0 | 0 | 2.5M | 0 | Rock Island |
| 43.6 | 1954-05-23 | 2 | 42°10'N / 91°40'W | 0 | 0 | 3K | 0 | Linn | |||
| 44.0 | 1988-05-08 | 2 | 41°31'N / 91°46'W | 41°33'N / 91°33'W | 13.00 Miles | 60 Yards | 0 | 0 | 2.5M | 0 | Johnson |
| 44.2 | 2006-04-13 | 2 | 41°16'N / 90°37'W | 41°16'N / 90°35'W | 2.00 Miles | 50 Yards | 0 | 0 | 30K | 0 | Mercer |
| Brief Description: Rated low F2 Tornado developed just east of 240th Street at 2107 CST and tracked generally east across the far northern part of Matherville and dissipated just west of U.S. 67 east of Matherville at 2111 CST. Two homes had roof damage done to them with the sheriff's office indicating one house was completely unroofed. | |||||||||||
| 44.2 | 1991-09-12 | 2 | 41°40'N / 91°50'W | 41°42'N / 91°40'W | 7.00 Miles | 70 Yards | 0 | 0 | 250K | 0 | Johnson |
| 44.3 | 1984-06-07 | 2 | 41°30'N / 91°42'W | 41°32'N / 91°36'W | 6.00 Miles | 200 Yards | 0 | 0 | 2.5M | 0 | Johnson |
| 44.4 | 2003-07-20 | 2 | 42°00'N / 91°46'W | 42°00'N / 91°46'W | 1.00 Mile | 300 Yards | 0 | 0 | 500K | 45K | Linn |
| Brief Description: Tornado developed in a corn field about 0.5 miles north of Covington. The tornado moved South Southeast crossing North Glen and Michael Road in Covington and then lifted in another corn field just north of Ellis Road. | |||||||||||
| 44.4 | 1974-08-12 | 4 | 42°21'N / 91°29'W | 5.00 Miles | 400 Yards | 0 | 12 | 2.5M | 0 | Delaware | |
| 44.7 | 1959-09-26 | 2 | 41°57'N / 90°06'W | 41°59'N / 90°02'W | 3.30 Miles | 40 Yards | 0 | 0 | 25K | 0 | Carroll |
| 45.2 | 1970-09-09 | 2 | 42°30'N / 91°06'W | 1.00 Mile | 100 Yards | 0 | 0 | 250K | 0 | Dubuque | |
| 45.9 | 1973-04-21 | 2 | 41°40'N / 91°50'W | 41°45'N / 91°45'W | 6.60 Miles | 33 Yards | 0 | 0 | 2.5M | 0 | Johnson |
| 46.4 | 1966-07-09 | 2 | 42°30'N / 90°40'W | 42°30'N / 90°38'W | 0 | 0 | 25K | 0 | Dubuque | ||
| 46.5 | 1965-04-23 | 2 | 41°21'N / 90°20'W | 0.20 Mile | 100 Yards | 0 | 0 | 25K | 0 | Henry | |
| 46.6 | 1965-08-26 | 2 | 42°32'N / 90°58'W | 0.50 Mile | 100 Yards | 0 | 0 | 25K | 0 | Dubuque | |
| 46.6 | 2004-05-21 | 3 | 42°03'N / 91°49'W | 42°04'N / 91°46'W | 3.00 Miles | 200 Yards | 0 | 0 | 250K | 50K | Linn |
| Brief Description: Rated F3 with winds estimated at 175 mph. Tornado developed just east of the Benton-Linn County Line Road and moved Northeast to Palo. The tornado initially caused damage to a farm 2 miles southwest of Palo where a garage and 3 outbuildings were destroyed. As it approached Palo, another farm was severely damaged where the roof and walls were torn off a house and a car was lofted 50 feet. The tornado continued across the southern edge of Palo where it destroyed a mobile home. | |||||||||||
| 47.2 | 1970-09-09 | 2 | 42°24'N / 90°30'W | 42°30'N / 90°25'W | 7.70 Miles | 70 Yards | 0 | 0 | 0K | 0 | Jo Daviess |
| 48.1 | 1970-05-09 | 2 | 41°13'N / 91°17'W | 1.00 Mile | 100 Yards | 0 | 0 | 25K | 0 | Louisa | |
| 48.1 | 1971-05-18 | 3 | 42°00'N / 91°52'W | 42°03'N / 91°48'W | 4.30 Miles | 200 Yards | 0 | 0 | 250K | 0 | Benton |
| 48.2 | 1967-04-21 | 2 | 41°26'N / 90°24'W | 41°29'N / 89°55'W | 25.10 Miles | 300 Yards | 0 | 0 | 250K | 0 | Henry |
| 48.4 | 1970-09-09 | 3 | 42°30'N / 90°40'W | 42°33'N / 90°35'W | 4.70 Miles | 300 Yards | 0 | 0 | 0K | 0 | Dubuque |
| 48.6 | 1998-05-15 | 3 | 41°17'N / 91°44'W | 41°28'N / 91°29'W | 18.00 Miles | 400 Yards | 0 | 28 | 9.0M | 0 | Washington |
| Brief Description: A tornado developed two miles Southwest of Washington Iowa and produced a 30 mile long continuous path of damage and debris as it moved to the Northeast at nearly 30 mph. The tornado weakened and lifted before reaching I-80 near West Branch Iowa shortly before 6pm. The tornado continued Northeast across Cedar County Iowa producing another 15 miles of isolated damage...not continuous. The storm producing this tornado continued Northeast producing a brief touchdown one mile west of Oxford Mills Iowa near the intersection of county roads E53 and X64. Another brief touchdown occurred south of Dubuque near Zwingle Iowa before the storm moved into Wisconsin. In Washington Iowa extensive damage was reported to businesses, a church, numerous homes, an apartment complex housing elderly residents and a livestock sale barn. Fourteen single family homes were destroyed, another fourteen received major damage and forty five reported minor damage. Three multi-family housing units were destroyed and two received major damage. Twenty six detached units (sheds and garages) were destroyed or sustained major damage. Across Washington county fourteen farmsteads were hit by the tornado with damage ranging from moderate to heavy. Utility damage was listed at $218,000. In the city of Washington twenty seven individuals sustained minor injuries requiring medical treatment. One person was hospitalized for treatment of injuries he received when his automobile was picked up and rolled over by the tornado. In Johnson County twenty miles of power lines and poles were damaged, fifteen roads were closed due to debris and one bridge was destroyed. Six residences were destroyed, eight more sustained minor the major damage, and three farms were affected. Seventeen people were treated and released for injuries in Johnson County. In Cedar County moderate to heavy damage was reported to five different properties as the tornado destroyed a home, barns, grain bins, machine and hog sheds, a hog nursery and a chicken coop. Two persons near Downey suffered injuries requiring stitches when bricks and debris fell upon them while they were taking shelter in their basement. | |||||||||||
| 49.2 | 1967-01-24 | 2 | 41°12'N / 91°17'W | 2.00 Miles | 150 Yards | 0 | 1 | 25K | 0 | Louisa | |
| 49.6 | 1991-03-22 | 2 | 42°21'N / 91°32'W | 42°35'N / 91°21'W | 17.00 Miles | 80 Yards | 0 | 1 | 250K | 0 | Delaware |
| 49.8 | 1970-05-09 | 2 | 41°18'N / 91°32'W | 2.00 Miles | 100 Yards | 0 | 0 | 25K | 0 | Washington | |
| 49.9 | 1984-06-07 | 2 | 41°28'N / 91°48'W | 41°30'N / 91°42'W | 8.00 Miles | 200 Yards | 0 | 0 | 2.5M | 0 | Washington |
* The information on this page is based on the global volcano database, the U.S. earthquake database of 1638-1985, and the U.S. Tornado and Weather Extremes database of 1950-2010.