Ringgold County, Iowa

What hazards hit Ringgold County most?

The most frequent records are hail reports: 105 since 1955. 46% of its hail reports since 1955 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 Ringgold County had?

NOAA records 28 tornadoes in Ringgold County from 1955 to 2024, the strongest rated F4, with 1 death and 3 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 29 tornadoes whose track touched Ringgold County since 1950 (NOAA's county records number 28: 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 Ringgold County?

The most recent record with damage, injuries or deaths is the April 26, 2024 tornado ($329,000 in damage in 2025 dollars).

This tornado developed in rural Ringgold County between Mt. Ayr and Diagonal. The tornado moved northeast with some damage to outbuildings and trees. The tornado crossed Highway 169 southwest of Tingley before moving through the center of town. Up to EF2 damage occurred with Tingley with an upper floor removed from one house and the destruction of some outside walls of a brick building in the downtown area. The tornado impacted a couple more farmsteads with EF0 to EF1 damage before dissipating to the northeast of Tingley.
National Weather Service event narrative, NOAA Storm Events Database (search the full record, event 1170081)

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 Ringgold 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?

46% of its hail reports since 1955 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 Ringgold County

FEMA's register lists 20 declarations that include Ringgold County: 18 major disasters, 2 emergencies and 0 fire management assistance declarations. Most were for flood (8) and severe storm (6).

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.

FEMA's modeled risk for Ringgold County

FEMA's National Risk Index rates Ringgold County Very Low overall, with an expected annual loss of $8.1 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 Ringgold County

1. Taylor County 580
2. Union County 570
3. Clarke County 549
4. Decatur County 476
5. Ringgold County 461
6. Harrison County, MO 431
7. Adams County 424
8. Worth County, MO 225

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 Ringgold CountyThe hazard risk calculator: 18 hazards beside the county's record
• Download Ringgold County's FEMA declarations (CSV)20 rows: every declaration that named the county, for your own analysis