Scott County, Iowa

What hazards hit Scott County most?

The most frequent records are severe thunderstorm wind events: 501 since 1959. 56% of its severe thunderstorm wind events since 1959 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 Scott County had?

NOAA records 67 tornadoes in Scott County from 1954 to 2025, the strongest rated F3, with 0 deaths and 3 injuries recorded in the county. That is 2nd of 99 Iowa counties and 62nd 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 68 tornadoes whose track touched Scott County since 1950 (NOAA's county records number 67: they file a crossing tornado once per county segment, and the two databases differ on some tracks); 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 Scott County?

The most recent record with damage, injuries or deaths is the May 17, 2017 tornado ($2,408 in damage in 2025 dollars).

Tornado was rated as EF-1 with peak winds of 100 mph, a path length of 2.14 miles, and a max width of 25 yards. This tornado was associated with a squall line. Numerous trees were damaged or uprooted with a few rotten trees snapped about 20 feet above the ground. Roofing damage was observed to a new home and garage at the beginning of its path.
National Weather Service event narrative, NOAA Storm Events Database (search the full record, event 703278)

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 Scott 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?

56% of its severe thunderstorm wind events since 1959 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 Scott County

FEMA's register lists 20 declarations that include Scott County: 18 major disasters, 2 emergencies and 0 fire management assistance declarations. Most were for flood (11) 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.

How many floods has Scott County had?

NOAA's Storm Events Database holds 144 flood or flash flood records for Scott County from 1996 to 2025, on 103 days, with 0 deaths. By flood insurance claims since 1978 (OpenFEMA, as of September 8, 2026), Scott County ranks 171st of 2,942 U.S. counties.

The National Flood Insurance Program has paid $34.9 million on 2,267 claims filed in Scott County; the most in one year was 379 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 Scott County

FEMA's National Risk Index rates Scott County Relatively Moderate overall, with an expected annual loss of $66.5 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 Scott County

1. Scott County 1,273
2. Rock Island County, IL 872
3. Clinton County 833
4. Cedar County 737
5. Muscatine County 726

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