Per the Storm Prediction Center Database, there have been 6 F5/EF5
tornadoes observed since 1950 in the state of Iowa. The last one hit on May 25, 2008 and is the topic of this summary.
A total of 14 tornadoes occurred on November 12, 2005. All but 2 were in the state of Iowa. The strongest is the topic of this summary. It was rated F3 and traveled from near Boxholm through Stratford. It ended 6 miles NNE of Stratford.
It is the only F5/EF5 on record during the month of October: The October 14, 1966 Belmond, IA Tornado. Just minutes after the high school’s homecoming parade, this devastating twister demolished a large section of town. The total path was approximately 12 miles.
Seven tornadoes were confirmed on September 8, 1986. 4 of the 7 were in the state of Iowa and this strongest of the day was this F4 that travels through parts of Polk and Jasper Counties. The Storm Data entry states, “the devastation might have been much greater, but the storm missed hitting any towns.”
Going WAY back with this tornado summary: September 25, 1900. Per Thomas Grazulis, the path length was 6 miles. He gave this a rating of F3. There were 11 injuries and 2 fatalities.
Not a lot of information to be found on this small tornado from 1989. Per the Storm Data entry, the tornado skipped about 14 miles through parts of Fremont County between Thurman and Randolph. The summary states that an RV was blown off of I-29 and 3 people were injured.
A significant tornado traveled through parts of Butler and Bremer Counties in Iowa on September 1, 1961. There is limited information in the Storm Data entry about this event. It only states the movement to the ENE ending in NW Bremer County and losses were over $1,000,000.
This summary looks at a destructive tornado that hit Ryan, IA on August 12, 1974. It was given a rating of F4. 44 homes were hit, 20 of which were destroyed. A school, a church and several businesses were also destroyed.
Our summary today looks at an EF2 tornado that tracked a short distance through Benton County, IA and near the town of Vinton. The tornado caused damaged for about 2 minutes around 5am local time.
Per the SPC Database, there were 5 tornadoes on July 12, 1971….all in Iowa. The strongest was rated F4. It began in Howard County near Elma and traveled close to 30 miles into Chickasaw County and ending in Fayette County near Waucoma.
