Jones County, Iowa

What hazards hit Jones County most?

The most frequent records are severe thunderstorm wind events: 253 since 1958. 54% of its severe thunderstorm wind events since 1958 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 Jones County had?

NOAA records 46 tornadoes in Jones County from 1953 to 2026, the strongest rated F4, with 0 deaths and 4 injuries recorded in the county. That is 12th of 99 Iowa counties and 248th 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 46 tornadoes whose track touched Jones County since 1950 (NOAA's county records number 46, 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 Jones County?

The most recent record with damage, injuries or deaths is the April 15, 2017 tornado ($24,000 in damage in 2025 dollars).

An EF-1 tornado began around 850 PM CDT on Saturday evening, approximately 4 miles northeast of Anamosa. The tornado tracked 3.22 miles to the east before lifting. The tornado was 25 yards wide with estimated peak winds of 100 MPH. Damage was to trees and outbuilding along the path.
National Weather Service event narrative, NOAA Storm Events Database (search the full record, event 688330)

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

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 Jones 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?

54% of its severe thunderstorm wind events since 1958 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 Jones County

FEMA's register lists 22 declarations that include Jones County: 20 major disasters, 2 emergencies and 0 fire management assistance declarations. Most were for severe storm (10) 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 Jones County had?

NOAA's Storm Events Database holds 52 flood or flash flood records for Jones County from 1997 to 2022, on 39 days, with 0 deaths. By flood insurance claims since 1978 (OpenFEMA, as of September 8, 2026), Jones County ranks 1201st of 2,942 U.S. counties.

The National Flood Insurance Program has paid $4.1 million on 122 claims filed in Jones County; the most in one year was 35 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 Jones County

FEMA's National Risk Index rates Jones County Very Low overall, with an expected annual loss of $16.1 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 Jones County

1. Linn County 1,436
2. Dubuque County 965
3. Clinton County 833
4. Jackson County 766
5. Jones County 739
6. Cedar County 737
7. Delaware County 697

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 Jones CountyThe hazard risk calculator: 18 hazards beside the county's record
• Download Jones County's FEMA declarations (CSV)22 rows: every declaration that named the county, for your own analysis