Des Moines County, Iowa

What hazards hit Des Moines County most?

The most frequent records are severe thunderstorm wind events: 246 since 1969. 47% of its severe thunderstorm wind events since 1969 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 Des Moines County had?

NOAA records 24 tornadoes in Des Moines County from 1954 to 2024, the strongest rated F3, with 0 deaths and 28 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 24 tornadoes whose track touched Des Moines County since 1950 (NOAA's county records number 24, 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 Des Moines County?

The most recent record with damage, injuries or deaths is the June 20, 2015 tornado ($374,000 in damage in 2025 dollars).

An EF1 tornado touched down briefly on the northwest side of the Iowa Army Ammunition Plant and tracked southeast for about 3 miles. Trees, roofs, outbuildings, power poles, and vehicles were damaged along the path. The maximum wind was estimated at 95 mph.
National Weather Service event narrative, NOAA Storm Events Database (search the full record, event 610626)

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 Des Moines 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?

47% of its severe thunderstorm wind events since 1969 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 Des Moines County

FEMA's register lists 27 declarations that include Des Moines County: 25 major disasters, 2 emergencies and 0 fire management assistance declarations. Most were for flood (13) and severe storm (10).

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 Des Moines County had?

NOAA's Storm Events Database holds 98 flood or flash flood records for Des Moines County from 1996 to 2024, on 81 days, with 0 deaths. By flood insurance claims since 1978 (OpenFEMA, as of September 8, 2026), Des Moines County ranks 666th of 2,942 U.S. counties.

The National Flood Insurance Program has paid $9.4 million on 352 claims filed in Des Moines County; the most in one year was 90 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 Des Moines County

FEMA's National Risk Index rates Des Moines County Relatively Low overall, with an expected annual loss of $19.5 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 Des Moines County

1. Lee County 722
2. Des Moines County 709
3. Mercer County, IL 538
4. Henry County 502
5. Louisa County 457
6. Henderson County, IL 410

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
• Severe thunderstorm wind in IowaThe state's severe thunderstorm wind events, 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 Des Moines CountyThe hazard risk calculator: 18 hazards beside the county's record
• Download Des Moines County's FEMA declarations (CSV)27 rows: every declaration that named the county, for your own analysis