Butler County, Iowa

What hazards hit Butler County most?

The most frequent records are hail reports: 172 since 1959. 61% of its hail reports since 1959 fell in May and June. 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 Butler County had?

NOAA records 31 tornadoes in Butler County from 1952 to 2021, the strongest rated EF5, with 9 deaths and 57 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 30 tornadoes whose track touched Butler County since 1950 (NOAA's county records number 31: they file a crossing tornado once per county segment, and the two databases differ on some tracks); along their whole tracks they killed 23 people, 9 of them in Butler County.

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 Butler County?

The most recent record with damage, injuries or deaths is the July 28, 2025 thunderstorm wind ($10,000 in damage in 2025 dollars).

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 Butler 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).

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

What time of year?

61% of its hail reports since 1959 fell in May and June. The two busiest months are in violet.

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

Federal disaster declarations for Butler County

FEMA's register lists 25 declarations that include Butler County: 23 major disasters, 2 emergencies and 0 fire management assistance declarations. Most were for severe storm (11) and flood (11).

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 Butler County had?

NOAA's Storm Events Database holds 128 flood or flash flood records for Butler County from 1997 to 2024, on 93 days, with 1 death. By flood insurance claims since 1978 (OpenFEMA, as of September 8, 2026), Butler County ranks 717th of 2,942 U.S. counties.

The National Flood Insurance Program has paid $7.4 million on 316 claims filed in Butler County; the most in one year was 148 in 2008. 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 Butler County

FEMA's National Risk Index rates Butler County Very Low overall, with an expected annual loss of $14.5 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 Butler County

1. Black Hawk County 1,062
2. Cerro Gordo County 854
3. Butler County 734
4. Hardin County 693
5. Floyd County 621
6. Franklin County 602
7. Bremer County 583
8. Grundy County 558
9. Chickasaw County 495

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
• Hail in IowaThe state's hail reports, 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 Butler CountyThe hazard risk calculator: 18 hazards beside the county's record
• Download Butler County's FEMA declarations (CSV)25 rows: every declaration that named the county, for your own analysis