Wapello County, Iowa

What hazards hit Wapello County most?

The most frequent records are severe thunderstorm wind events: 263 since 1956. 57% of its severe thunderstorm wind events since 1956 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 Wapello County had?

NOAA records 27 tornadoes in Wapello County from 1958 to 2023, the strongest rated EF2, with 2 deaths and 3 injuries recorded in the county. That is 41st of 99 Iowa 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 28 tornadoes whose track touched Wapello County since 1950 (NOAA's county records number 27: they file a crossing tornado once per county segment, and the two databases differ on some tracks); along their whole tracks they killed 4 people, 2 of them in Wapello 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 Wapello County?

The most recent record with damage, injuries or deaths is the July 20, 2025 thunderstorm wind (2 injuries and $15,000 in damage in 2025 dollars).

Wapello County EM and City of Eldon reported tree damage and power outages due to thunderstorm winds in the town of Eldon. Downed trees were reported to be blocking roadways and the City of Eldon spent the next few days cleaning up tree damage. One tree fell on and injured a motorcyclist driving through town.
National Weather Service event narrative, NOAA Storm Events Database (search the full record, event 1289451)

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 Wapello 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?

57% of its severe thunderstorm wind events since 1956 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 Wapello County

FEMA's register lists 20 declarations that include Wapello County: 18 major disasters, 2 emergencies and 0 fire management assistance declarations. Most were for flood (9) 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 Wapello County had?

NOAA's Storm Events Database holds 119 flood or flash flood records for Wapello County from 1996 to 2021, on 93 days, with 0 deaths. By flood insurance claims since 1978 (OpenFEMA, as of September 8, 2026), Wapello County ranks 1214th of 2,942 U.S. counties.

The National Flood Insurance Program has paid $2.4 million on 119 claims filed in Wapello County; the most in one year was 41 in 2010. 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 Wapello County

FEMA's National Risk Index rates Wapello County Relatively Low overall, with an expected annual loss of $24.1 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 Wapello County

1. Wapello County 770
2. Mahaska County 622
3. Appanoose County 563
4. Van Buren County 515
5. Keokuk County 482
6. Jefferson County 450
7. Davis County 416
8. Monroe County 405

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