Buena Vista County, Iowa

What hazards hit Buena Vista County most?

The most frequent records are winter storm records: 166 since 1996. 46% of its winter storm records since 1996 fell in January and February. The rank column places the county among Iowa's counties by days with a record per 1,000 square miles of land over each hazard's complete period.

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database (county and forecast-zone records attributed to the county; a zone record shows its own totals on each county it covers). Days: dates with at least one record of the hazard in the county. Ranks: days with a record per 1,000 square miles of land (Census Bureau 2024 Gazetteer), since 1950 for tornadoes, 1955 for hail and thunderstorm wind, 1996 for the rest.

How many tornadoes has Buena Vista County had?

NOAA records 29 tornadoes in Buena Vista County from 1958 to 2026, the strongest rated EF2, with 0 deaths and 3 injuries recorded in the county. A tornado that crossed a county line is counted in each county it touched, with the length of its path inside the county.

Counted as whole tornadoes rather than county records, the Storm Prediction Center's database holds 29 tornadoes whose track touched Buena Vista County since 1950 (NOAA's county records number 29, the same count); along their whole tracks they killed 0 people.

Map of the strongest tornado tracks in Iowa.

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, tornado records by county (path length in the county, maximum width); ratings as published: F scale before February 1, 2007, EF scale after. Whole-track figures: NOAA Storm Prediction Center tornado database (1950-2025). SPC severe weather database.

When was the last damaging storm in Buena Vista County?

The most recent record with damage, injuries or deaths is the June 21, 2024 flood ($2.3 million in damage in 2025 dollars).

Rainfall amounts across Buena Vista County from June 20-22 ranged from around a quarter of an inch across southern areas to nearly 3 inches across northern areas. Farther north and upstream, 3 to 7 inches of rain fell across portions of northwest Iowa. This rainfall resulted in major to record flooding along the Little Sioux River and overland flooding along the adjoining flood plain. The majority of flood impacts occurred across the far northern portion of the county, including the communities of Sioux Rapids and Linn Grove. Several area homes were proactively evacuated. Most of the business district in Sioux Rapids flooded with some buildings collapsing. Approximately 80 homes and 30 businesses were damaged by flood waters. Infrastructure was also severely impacted. The U.S. Highway 71 bridge north of Sioux Rapids was under water and closed. …
National Weather Service event narrative, NOAA Storm Events Database (search the full record, event 1195707)

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database; every record of 2025-2026 is listed, earlier ones when they caused deaths, injuries or $250,000 of damage (2025 dollars), and every tornado.

The deadliest and costliest records

A damage figure marked "step" is a record from before 1993: NOAA then filed damage by category, and the figure is the category as entered, in the dollars of that year, not an estimate of the loss.

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database: deaths and injuries direct and indirect; damage is property plus crops as estimated by the National Weather Service, converted to 2025 dollars.

Is it getting more frequent?

Records per decade for Buena Vista County's most frequent hazards. Counts rose everywhere after 1996, when NOAA began recording every event type, so compare decades within a hazard's complete period only (the shaded cells come before it).

Drought in the 2020-26: 35 records against 10 in the decade before, 35 of them forecast-zone records. High wind and dust storms in the 2020-26: 24 records against 5 in the decade before, 24 of them forecast-zone records. Cells marked z rose mostly through zone records. The local National Weather Service office files these once per forecast zone, so a change in how it draws its zones or splits a storm into records moves this count as much as the weather does; read it beside the Buena Vista County days with a record above.

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records per calendar decade; zone records from the CZ_TYPE field (Z).

What time of year?

46% of its winter storm records since 1996 fell in January and February. The two busiest months are in violet.

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records by the month they began.

Federal disaster declarations for Buena Vista County

FEMA's register lists 22 declarations that include Buena Vista County: 19 major disasters, 3 emergencies and 0 fire management assistance declarations. Most were for severe storm (10) and flood (7).

Source: FEMA OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries (v2), declarations through October 2, 2026; one declaration is counted once however many areas it names. OpenFEMA dataset page.

How many floods has Buena Vista County had?

NOAA's Storm Events Database holds 70 flood or flash flood records for Buena Vista County from 1997 to 2024, on 61 days, with 0 deaths. By flood insurance claims since 1978 (OpenFEMA, as of September 8, 2026), Buena Vista County ranks 2830th of 2,942 U.S. counties.

The National Flood Insurance Program has paid $0 on 1 claim filed in Buena Vista County; the most in one year was 1 in 1979. Claims count insured losses only: uninsured flood damage is not in this file.

Source: FEMA OpenFEMA NFIP Redacted Claims, as of September 8, 2026; claims by year of loss, payments in the dollars of the year paid. OpenFEMA dataset page.

FEMA's modeled risk for Buena Vista County

FEMA's National Risk Index rates Buena Vista County Very Low overall, with an expected annual loss of $12.0 million. These are FEMA's model estimates of future loss from 18 hazards, not a count of what happened; they can differ from the record above.

Source: FEMA National Risk Index, county table, December 2025 release. FEMA's National Risk Index map.

Counties that share a border with Buena Vista County

1. Clay County 1,017
2. O'Brien County 826
3. Buena Vista County 712
4. Cherokee County 708
5. Calhoun County 609
6. Pocahontas County 595
7. Palo Alto County 580
8. Ida County 556
9. Sac County 513

Source: U.S. Census Bureau county adjacency file; NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records since 1950. The Census Bureau's adjacency file.

Next

• Tornadoes in IowaEvery Iowa tornado since 1950 and the counties with the most per square mile
• Winter storms in IowaThe state's winter storm records, by county, year and month
• The Iowa recordEvery hazard in the state, its deadliest events and its federal declarations
• FEMA's risk rating for each hazard in Buena Vista CountyThe hazard risk calculator: 18 hazards beside the county's record
• Download Buena Vista County's FEMA declarations (CSV)22 rows: every declaration that named the county, for your own analysis