Keokuk County, Iowa

What hazards hit Keokuk County most?

The most frequent records are winter storm records: 142 since 1996. 58% of its winter storm records since 1996 fell in December and January. 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 Keokuk County had?

NOAA records 31 tornadoes in Keokuk County from 1959 to 2024, the strongest rated EF4, with 3 deaths and 44 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 32 tornadoes whose track touched Keokuk 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 2 people, 3 of them in Keokuk 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 Keokuk County?

The most recent record with damage, injuries or deaths is the March 31, 2023 tornado (3 injuries).

Another large, violent tornado developed in eastern Keokuk County as the initial tornado was weakening southwest of Keota. The tornado tracked to the northeast, on the western fringe of Keota, and crossed into Washington County near the intersection of Keokuk-Washington Road and 180th St. The tornado then continued through northwest Washington county, extreme southeast Iowa County, and into far southwest Johnson County. The tornado severely damaged several homes near Keota, wiping one house completely off its foundation, resulting in EF-4 level damage. A car was lofted in the air and tossed about 1000 feet into a nearby field and trees were completely debarked with only stubs of the largest branches remaining. As the tornado tracked west of Wellman, Iowa it knocked over a 325 ft cell phone tower. The tornado began to dissipate as it tracked into far southwest Johnson County. …
National Weather Service event narrative, NOAA Storm Events Database (search the full record, event 1087061)

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 Keokuk 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?

58% of its winter storm records since 1996 fell in December and January. The two busiest months are in violet.

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

Federal disaster declarations for Keokuk County

FEMA's register lists 19 declarations that include Keokuk County: 17 major disasters, 2 emergencies and 0 fire management assistance declarations. Most were for flood (8) and severe storm (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 Keokuk County had?

NOAA's Storm Events Database holds 39 flood or flash flood records for Keokuk County from 1996 to 2024, on 38 days, with 0 deaths. By flood insurance claims since 1978 (OpenFEMA, as of September 8, 2026), Keokuk County ranks 2685th of 2,942 U.S. counties.

The National Flood Insurance Program has paid $32,000 on 3 claims filed in Keokuk County; the most in one year was 1 in 1990. 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 Keokuk County

FEMA's National Risk Index rates Keokuk County Very Low overall, with an expected annual loss of $8.9 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 Keokuk County

1. Wapello County 770
2. Mahaska County 622
3. Iowa County 600
4. Washington County 583
5. Poweshiek County 554
6. Keokuk County 482
7. Jefferson County 450

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 Keokuk CountyThe hazard risk calculator: 18 hazards beside the county's record
• Download Keokuk County's FEMA declarations (CSV)19 rows: every declaration that named the county, for your own analysis