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Osceola County Natural Disasters and Weather Extremes

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The chance of earthquake damage in Osceola County is about the same as Iowa average and is much lower than the national average. The risk of tornado damage in Osceola County is much lower than Iowa average and is much lower than the national average.

Topics:Earthquake Index Volcano Index Tornado Index Other Weather Extremes Events Volcanos Nearby Historical Earthquake Events Historical Tornado Events

Earthquake Index, #51

Osceola County	0.00
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

Osceola County	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, #97

Osceola County	0.00
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 12,249 other weather extremes events within 50 miles of Osceola County 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:	122	Cold:	77	Dense Fog:	3	Drought:	25
Dust Storm:	0	Flood:	982	Hail:	5,600	Heat:	18	Heavy Snow:	127
High Surf:	0	Hurricane:	0	Ice Storm:	37	Landslide:	0	Strong Wind:	161
Thunderstorm Winds:	4,354	Tropical Storm:	0	Wildfire:	3	Winter Storm:	170	Winter Weather:	153
Other:	417

Volcanos Nearby

No volcano is found in or near Osceola County.

Historical Earthquake Events

No historical earthquake events that had recorded magnitudes of 3.5 or above found in or near Osceola County.

No historical earthquake events found in or near Osceola County.

Historical Tornado Events

A total of 80 historical tornado events that had recorded magnitude of 2 or above found in or near Osceola County.

Distance (miles)	Date	Magnitude	Start Lat/Log	End Lat/Log	Length	Width	Fatalities	Injuries	Property Damage	Crop Damage	Affected County
1.5	1971-05-31	3	43°13'N / 95°57'W	43°30'N / 95°20'W	36.50 Miles	100 Yards	0	0	0K	0	O'brien
4.4	1982-06-06	2	43°24'N / 95°43'W		2.00 Miles	67 Yards	0	0	2.5M	0	Osceola
6.6	1965-05-05	2	43°10'N / 95°29'W	43°24'N / 95°47'W	21.80 Miles	33 Yards	0	0	3K	0	O'brien
6.7	1968-06-13	2	43°23'N / 95°30'W				0	0	250K	0	Osceola
7.1	2010-06-25	4	43°24'N / 95°51'W	43°22'N / 95°42'W	8.00 Miles	800 Yards	0	13	3.0M	0K	Osceola
		Brief Description: EVENT NARRATIVE: A tornado destroyed at least two houses, injuring two people in one of them. the tornado also destroyed several garages and severely damaged several other homes, destroyed at least 4 hog confinement buildings, several barns and silos, and numerous outbuildings. The tornado destroyed three vehicles that had been parked under an Iowa Highway 60 overpass, injuring 11 people in the vehicles, and removing the engine from one of the vehicles. The tornado damaged power lines, causing power outages, and caused damage to trees and crops. The tornado also destroyed a shelter belt and severely damaged heavy farm equipment, removing the wheels from some of the vehicles. Much of the damage occurred a short distance west to south of the town of Sibley. EPISODE NARRATIVE: Thunderstorms produced tornadoes, one that caused considerable damage and at least two injuries along a 14 mile path, along with damaging winds, in northwest Iowa during the evening of June 25th.
7.2	1971-05-31	3	43°20'N / 95°32'W	43°27'N / 95°27'W	8.60 Miles	250 Yards	0	0	250K	0	Osceola
9.2	1981-06-14	2	43°25'N / 95°33'W	43°27'N / 95°23'W	8.30 Miles	1533 Yards	0	0	2.5M	0	Osceola
10.0	1981-06-14	2	43°26'N / 95°33'W	43°29'N / 95°23'W	8.80 Miles	1533 Yards	0	0	2.5M	0	Osceola
11.5	1966-07-09	2	43°26'N / 95°25'W		1.00 Mile	200 Yards	0	0	25K	0	Osceola
13.3	1964-05-08	2	43°26'N / 95°26'W	43°29'N / 95°21'W	5.10 Miles	200 Yards	0	0	25K	0	Osceola
13.6	2010-06-25	2	43°26'N / 95°57'W	43°24'N / 95°51'W	5.00 Miles	450 Yards	0	0	500K	0K	Lyon
		Brief Description: EVENT NARRATIVE: A tornado destroyed two hog confinement buildings, killing about 12 hogs, numerous outbuildings, a metal farm building, tore the roof off a house and damaged at least 6 other houses, and caused damage to other farm buildings, power lines, vehicles, and trees, before moving out of Lyon County and into Osceola County. EPISODE NARRATIVE: Thunderstorms produced tornadoes, one that caused considerable damage and at least two injuries along a 14 mile path, along with damaging winds, in northwest Iowa during the evening of June 25th.
14.0	1977-05-27	2	43°28'N / 95°48'W	43°37'N / 95°48'W	10.30 Miles	60 Yards	0	0	250K	0	Nobles
15.4	1986-04-26	2	43°28'N / 95°56'W	43°35'N / 95°48'W	10.00 Miles	40 Yards	0	2	2.5M	0	Nobles
17.9	1986-04-26	2	43°24'N / 96°02'W	43°28'N / 95°56'W	8.50 Miles	120 Yards	1	2	2.5M	0	Lyon
18.6	1971-05-31	3	43°22'N / 95°19'W	43°28'N / 95°13'W	8.00 Miles	200 Yards	0	0	250K	0	Dickinson
19.3	1981-06-13	2	43°10'N / 95°53'W				0	0	3K	0	Sioux
20.2	1981-06-14	2	43°27'N / 95°23'W	43°29'N / 95°07'W	13.30 Miles	33 Yards	0	0	2.5M	0	Dickinson
20.3	1956-05-10	2	43°37'N / 95°48'W	43°42'N / 95°43'W	6.50 Miles	880 Yards	0	0	250K	0	Nobles
20.7	2004-06-11	2	43°08'N / 95°23'W	43°12'N / 95°18'W	5.50 Miles	200 Yards	0	0	500K	0	Clay
		Brief Description: A tornado destroyed a hog barn, killing ten hogs, destroyed a greenhouse, destroyed a barn, outbuildings, a machine shed and a garage, and damaged several other farm structures including a horse barn. Several horses were injured. At least two houses were damaged, with windows blown out. Several vehicles were also damaged. Numerous power lines and trees were blown down. The tornado also damaged crops.
20.8	1981-06-14	2	43°29'N / 95°23'W	43°30'N / 95°07'W	13.10 Miles	33 Yards	0	0	2.5M	0	Dickinson
21.5	1991-04-26	2	43°16'N / 95°14'W		18.00 Miles	60 Yards	0	0	250K	0	Dickinson
21.8	1971-05-31	3	43°30'N / 95°20'W	43°38'N / 95°14'W	10.00 Miles	100 Yards	0	0	250K	0	Jackson
21.9	1990-08-18	2	43°28'N / 95°16'W	43°22'N / 95°08'W	8.50 Miles	63 Yards	0	0	2.5M	0	Dickinson
23.0	1971-10-01	3	43°02'N / 95°29'W	43°09'N / 95°19'W	11.20 Miles	33 Yards	0	0	250K	0	O'brien
23.4	1980-07-19	2	43°01'N / 95°37'W	43°04'N / 95°34'W	3.30 Miles	160 Yards	0	0	2.5M	0	O'brien
24.9	1979-08-08	2	43°04'N / 95°53'W		0.40 Mile	100 Yards	0	0	2.5M	0	Sioux
26.2	2008-06-11	2	42°58'N / 95°32'W	43°03'N / 95°30'W	6.00 Miles	300 Yards	0	0	200K	0K	O'brien
		Brief Description: EVENT NARRATIVE: A tornado destroyed several outbuildings, moved a 1.5 ton wagon, heavily damaged a machine shed containing farm equipment and also damaged a nearby house on the same farm. Also destroyed another machine shed at a different location, destroyed a pole barn, damaged a grain bin, broke or blew down several power poles and power lines, and caused tree damage. EPISODE NARRATIVE: Thunderstorms produced several tornadoes, along with large hail, damaging winds, and flash flooding in northwest Iowa during the late afternoon and early evening of June 11th.
26.8	1960-07-11	2	43°24'N / 95°06'W		1.00 Mile	300 Yards	0	0	250K	0	Dickinson
27.1	2000-07-25	2	43°38'N / 96°03'W	43°40'N / 96°00'W	3.00 Miles	200 Yards	0	0	150K	0	Nobles
		Brief Description: A tornado damaged buildings, vehicles, and trees on a farm. The tornado destroyed the west side of the house, blew three grain bins away and wrapped them around trees. The tornado also blew the top of a barn off, killing at least 4 calves inside.
28.8	1968-04-03	2	42°59'N / 95°49'W		0.50 Mile	100 Yards	0	0	25K	0	O'brien
28.9	1968-06-13	2	43°23'N / 95°06'W	43°26'N / 95°01'W	4.90 Miles	200 Yards	0	17	2.5M	0	Dickinson
29.0	1980-09-20	3	43°09'N / 95°09'W		1.50 Miles	300 Yards	0	0	25K	0	Clay
29.0	1984-06-07	2	43°09'N / 95°09'W		2.00 Miles	77 Yards	0	0	250K	0	Clay
30.5	1968-09-22	3	43°01'N / 96°04'W	43°04'N / 95°59'W	4.70 Miles	50 Yards	0	0	2.5M	0	Sioux
30.9	2008-06-11	2	43°00'N / 95°16'W	43°09'N / 95°06'W	13.00 Miles	100 Yards	0	0	300K	0K	Clay
		Brief Description: EVENT NARRATIVE: A tornado destroyed or heavily damaged numerous outbuildings on at least 8 affected farmsteads, with damaged buildings including several large sheds. The tornado damaged numerous grain bins, most of which were carried off their foundations, with some being carried as much as a half mile. The ornado also overturned a camper, blew the top off a silo, destroyed a garage, broke windows on a house, and caused considerable damage to trees, power poles, and power lines. EPISODE NARRATIVE: Thunderstorms produced several tornadoes, along with large hail, damaging winds, and flash flooding in northwest Iowa during the late afternoon and early evening of June 11th.
31.7	1978-07-06	2	43°28'N / 96°24'W	43°26'N / 96°07'W	14.20 Miles	200 Yards	0	0	2.5M	0	Lyon
32.0	1998-03-29	2	43°48'N / 95°54'W	43°48'N / 95°54'W	0.10 Mile	75 Yards	0	0	200K	0	Nobles
		Brief Description: A tornado destroyed farm buildings...uprooted numerous trees...and overturned a tractor trailer.
32.1	1998-03-29	2	43°47'N / 95°57'W	43°47'N / 95°57'W	0.10 Mile	75 Yards	0	0	400K	0	Nobles
		Brief Description: A tornado destroyed buildings...trees in shelter belts...and numerous pieces of farm equipment...and killed two cattle.
32.6	1954-04-26	2	43°03'N / 95°18'W	42°58'N / 95°10'W	8.40 Miles	33 Yards	0	0	0K	0	Clay
33.1	1954-06-19	2	43°17'N / 96°18'W	43°15'N / 96°15'W	2.30 Miles	880 Yards	0	0	25K	0	Lyon
33.4	1959-05-28	2	43°12'N / 95°01'W		1.00 Mile	150 Yards	0	0	3K	0	Clay
34.1	1975-06-04	2	43°02'N / 95°09'W				0	0	3K	0	Clay
36.0	1986-04-26	2	43°21'N / 96°23'W	43°27'N / 96°19'W	9.50 Miles	70 Yards	0	0	2.5M	0	Lyon
36.1	1992-06-16	5	43°48'N / 96°01'W	43°51'N / 96°00'W	3.00 Miles	280 Yards	0	0	25.0M	0	Nobles
37.1	1964-05-05	3	42°34'N / 96°21'W	43°11'N / 95°26'W	62.90 Miles	300 Yards	0	0	2.5M	0	Plymouth
37.5	2008-05-01	2	43°08'N / 96°18'W	43°15'N / 96°22'W	9.00 Miles	400 Yards	0	0	0.5M	0K	Sioux
		Brief Description: EVENT NARRATIVE: A tornado damaged numerous trees, including large trees uprooted, blew windows out of a home, destroyed a metal shed, blew two windows and part of a wall out of a metal building, damaged at least three grain bins, destroyed or damaged numerous outbuildings and small sheds, blew down or snapped off at least 15 power poles, bent a metal light pole, tipped one wagon and blew the top off another, blew down a barb wire fence and pushed fence posts almost to the ground, destroyed a hog barn, and flattened corn stubble, before crossing the county line into Lyon County. Contents inside several damaged or destroyed buildings and sheds were also damaged, especially on one farm where damaged buildings housed a farm and trucking business. EPISODE NARRATIVE: Thunderstorms produced 5 confirmed tornadoes over extreme northwest Iowa during the early evening hours of May 1st. One large long track tornado caused considerable damage, while the other 4 tornadoes were short lived and weak.
37.7	1978-07-05	2	43°02'N / 96°15'W	42°56'N / 96°03'W	11.90 Miles	200 Yards	0	0	2.5M	0	Sioux
38.2	1952-06-23	4	42°45'N / 95°51'W	42°54'N / 95°25'W	24.10 Miles	400 Yards	0	4	2.5M	0	Cherokee
38.6	1976-06-14	2	43°46'N / 95°11'W	43°51'N / 95°06'W	6.40 Miles	300 Yards	0	3	250K	0	Jackson
39.5	1966-06-02	2	43°06'N / 96°24'W	43°02'N / 96°11'W	11.50 Miles	300 Yards	0	0	25K	0	Sioux
40.0	1956-06-29	2	43°44'N / 96°16'W				0	0	0K	0	Rock
40.4	1991-08-07	2	42°49'N / 95°54'W	42°49'N / 95°49'W	3.00 Miles	80 Yards	0	0	25K	0	Plymouth
40.4	1992-06-16	5	43°51'N / 96°00'W	44°00'N / 95°51'W	13.00 Miles	280 Yards	1	35	25.0M	0	Murray
40.5	1959-05-28	2	43°10'N / 94°54'W	43°12'N / 94°51'W	2.30 Miles	100 Yards	0	0	25K	0	Palo Alto
40.6	1958-04-01	2	42°44'N / 95°42'W	42°51'N / 95°38'W	8.30 Miles	200 Yards	0	0	25K	0	Cherokee
40.7	1992-06-16	2	43°55'N / 95°59'W	43°56'N / 95°54'W	4.00 Miles	40 Yards	0	0	0K	0	Murray
41.7	1976-06-14	2	43°09'N / 94°54'W	43°15'N / 94°47'W	8.60 Miles	33 Yards	0	0	3K	0	Palo Alto
41.9	1991-08-07	2	42°49'N / 95°49'W	42°45'N / 95°47'W	5.00 Miles	80 Yards	0	0	25K	0	Cherokee
42.3	1992-06-16	2	43°59'N / 95°46'W		0.50 Mile	30 Yards	0	0	0K	0	Murray
42.3	1963-03-16	2	42°47'N / 95°26'W		2.00 Miles	250 Yards	0	0	3K	0	Cherokee
42.5	1993-05-07	2	43°28'N / 96°29'W	43°31'N / 96°27'W	1.50 Miles	70 Yards	0	0	500K	0	Lyon
		Brief Description: Border Crosser, went into Minnehaha County, SD at 1500CST. Intense thunderstorms developed ahead of an approaching cold front. This line was the first wave of storms to form. The bulk of the severe weather passed to the west and north of Iowa. One very large cell formed over the northwest corner of the state. It produced a tornado northwest of Larchwood, in the northwest corner of Lyon County. Buildings were damaged on three farms. A total of 10 buildings were destroyed as well as two silos. On one of the farms, the owner watched as a 1500 pound fertilizer tank was lifted 50 feet into the air and blew past his window. Total damage to the three farmsteads affected amounted to about $200,000. The only injury that occurred was to a bull on one of the farms. The bull sustained a broken leg. The tornado passed into southeast South Dakota shortly after this damage occurred. It was a border crossing tornado.
42.6	2004-06-11	3	42°55'N / 95°03'W	42°59'N / 95°00'W	6.00 Miles	400 Yards	0	0	50K	0	Clay
		Brief Description: A large cone shaped tornado tore a steel bridge from a road. The tornado raised a large debris cloud as it moved over open country, causing damage to crops and power lines. The tornado moved into Clay County after forming just south of the County Line.
43.0	1964-09-07	2	42°47'N / 95°58'W	42°47'N / 95°48'W	7.90 Miles	200 Yards	0	0	250K	0	Plymouth
43.1	1985-04-20	3	43°54'N / 96°06'W	43°55'N / 96°05'W	0.80 Mile	250 Yards	0	0	2.5M	0	Pipestone
43.3	1954-05-27	2	42°49'N / 96°05'W	42°51'N / 96°02'W	2.30 Miles	200 Yards	0	0	25K	0	Plymouth
43.5	1967-06-14	2	42°53'N / 96°10'W		1.00 Mile	100 Yards	0	0	25K	0	Plymouth
45.3	1967-04-30	2	43°23'N / 94°41'W	43°29'N / 94°47'W	8.20 Miles	300 Yards	0	0	2.5M	0	Emmet
45.4	1985-04-20	3	43°55'N / 96°05'W	44°01'N / 96°00'W	7.20 Miles	250 Yards	0	2	2.5M	0	Murray
45.4	1992-06-16	4	43°57'N / 95°54'W	44°03'N / 95°58'W	7.00 Miles	160 Yards	0	3	25.0M	0	Murray
45.7	1964-05-08	3	42°47'N / 96°10'W	42°49'N / 95°59'W	9.30 Miles	200 Yards	0	0	25K	0	Plymouth
45.9	1976-06-14	2	43°51'N / 95°06'W	43°56'N / 95°00'W	7.10 Miles	300 Yards	0	3	250K	0	Cottonwood
46.1	1992-06-16	2	43°57'N / 95°26'W	44°06'N / 95°22'W	7.50 Miles	90 Yards	0	0	0K	0	Cottonwood
46.3	1984-06-07	2	42°39'N / 95°44'W	42°46'N / 95°35'W	10.00 Miles	77 Yards	0	0	2.5M	0	Cherokee
46.8	1969-06-25	2	43°40'N / 96°25'W	43°51'N / 96°24'W	12.30 Miles	120 Yards	0	5	250K	0	Rock
47.0	1965-06-07	3	42°52'N / 96°18'W	42°48'N / 96°05'W	11.50 Miles	100 Yards	0	0	25K	0	Plymouth
48.4	1992-06-16	2	44°00'N / 95°51'W	44°09'N / 95°38'W	13.00 Miles	40 Yards	0	0	0K	0	Murray
48.8	1960-06-23	2	43°39'N / 94°44'W		2.00 Miles	33 Yards	0	0	3K	0	Martin
49.1	1963-03-16	2	42°48'N / 96°12'W		2.00 Miles	200 Yards	0	0	25K	0	Plymouth
49.1	1987-07-07	2	43°01'N / 96°29'W	43°00'N / 96°27'W	2.00 Miles	50 Yards	0	0	250K	0	Sioux
49.1	1991-08-07	2	42°47'N / 96°10'W		1.50 Miles	63 Yards	0	0	250K	0	Plymouth

* 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.