Howard County, Iowa

What hazards hit Howard County most?

The most frequent records are severe thunderstorm wind events: 111 since 1962. 48% of its severe thunderstorm wind events since 1962 fell in June and July. 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 Howard County had?

NOAA records 44 tornadoes in Howard County from 1953 to 2026, the strongest rated F5, with 0 deaths and 27 injuries recorded in the county. That is 11th of 99 Iowa counties and 239th of 3,080 U.S. counties by days with tornadoes per 1,000 square miles since 1950. 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 41 tornadoes whose track touched Howard County since 1950 (NOAA's county records number 44: they file a crossing tornado once per county segment, and the two databases differ on some tracks); along their whole tracks they killed 2 people, 0 of them in Howard 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 Howard County?

The most recent record with damage, injuries or deaths is the April 17, 2026 tornado (1 injury and $55,000 in damage in 2025 dollars).

This tornado developed northwest of Saratoga and was witnessed by multiple individuals as it tracked northeast, damaging one outbuilding. The tornado also rolled a truck with the driver sustaining minor injuries. The tornado then dissipated southeast of the intersection of 70th street and Kent Avenue.
National Weather Service event narrative, NOAA Storm Events Database (search the full record, event 1329039)

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 Howard 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?

48% of its severe thunderstorm wind events since 1962 fell in June and July. The two busiest months are in violet.

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

Federal disaster declarations for Howard County

FEMA's register lists 23 declarations that include Howard County: 21 major disasters, 2 emergencies and 0 fire management assistance declarations. Most were for severe storm (11) and flood (8).

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 Howard County had?

NOAA's Storm Events Database holds 34 flood or flash flood records for Howard County from 1998 to 2024, on 30 days, with 0 deaths. By flood insurance claims since 1978 (OpenFEMA, as of September 8, 2026), Howard County ranks 2436th of 2,942 U.S. counties.

The National Flood Insurance Program has paid $32,000 on 8 claims filed in Howard County; the most in one year was 3 in 2016. 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 Howard County

FEMA's National Risk Index rates Howard County Very Low overall, with an expected annual loss of $9.2 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 Howard County

1. Mower County, MN 732
2. Fillmore County, MN 688
3. Winneshiek County 627
4. Floyd County 621
5. Chickasaw County 495
6. Howard County 493
7. Mitchell County 484

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 Howard CountyThe hazard risk calculator: 18 hazards beside the county's record
• Download Howard County's FEMA declarations (CSV)23 rows: every declaration that named the county, for your own analysis