Pottawattamie County, Iowa

What hazards hit Pottawattamie County most?

The most frequent records are hail reports: 260 since 1962. 45% of its hail reports since 1962 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 Pottawattamie County had?

NOAA records 57 tornadoes in Pottawattamie County from 1970 to 2024, the strongest rated F4, with 1 death and 99 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 56 tornadoes whose track touched Pottawattamie County since 1950 (NOAA's county records number 57: they file a crossing tornado once per county segment, and the two databases differ on some tracks); along their whole tracks they killed 1 person.

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 Pottawattamie County?

The most recent record with damage, injuries or deaths is the January 16, 2026 strong wind (1 death).

A semi truck traveling southwest on Interstate 80 lost control in the wind and was blown over, resulting in one indirect fatality. The highest measured wind gust in the county was 51 mph measured by the KCBF AWOS at 1435 CST.
National Weather Service event narrative, NOAA Storm Events Database (search the full record, event 1311555)

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 Pottawattamie 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?

45% of its hail reports since 1962 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 Pottawattamie County

FEMA's register lists 26 declarations that include Pottawattamie County: 23 major disasters, 3 emergencies and 0 fire management assistance declarations. Most were for severe storm (12) and flood (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 Pottawattamie County had?

NOAA's Storm Events Database holds 48 flood or flash flood records for Pottawattamie County from 1997 to 2024, on 38 days, with 0 deaths. By flood insurance claims since 1978 (OpenFEMA, as of September 8, 2026), Pottawattamie County ranks 357th of 2,942 U.S. counties.

The National Flood Insurance Program has paid $11.1 million on 867 claims filed in Pottawattamie County; the most in one year was 232 in 1999. 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 Pottawattamie County

FEMA's National Risk Index rates Pottawattamie County Relatively Low overall, with an expected annual loss of $49.6 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 Pottawattamie County

1. Douglas County, NE 1,272
2. Pottawattamie County 774
3. Sarpy County, NE 743
4. Cass County 724
5. Washington County, NE 699
6. Harrison County 698
7. Shelby County 590
8. Mills County 516
9. Montgomery County 454

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 Pottawattamie CountyThe hazard risk calculator: 18 hazards beside the county's record
• Download Pottawattamie County's FEMA declarations (CSV)26 rows: every declaration that named the county, for your own analysis