2017 Iowa Tornadoes

Above is a map of the tornadoes that occurred across Iowa in 2017. Mouse over each icon to view more information on that tornado, which will appear in the box to the right. A season summary and table of these tornadoes is provided below. Detailed KMZ files for many of the tracks can be downloaded and viewed in Google Earth by clicking on the appropriate icon in the table below. To download the full year map shown above, click the download button below.

Please note: Track lines and contours are often interpolated and may not encompass the full extent of the damage. Surveying procedures vary between NWS offices. Downloadable tracks may not be available for weak tornadoes that were not surveyed.

    A total of 55 tornadoes occurred across the state of Iowa in 2017.  The first February tornado in many years occurred on February 28th in far eastern Iowa near the small village of Folletts north of the Quad Cities.  This was a very brief tornado in a farm field observed by local emergency management.  A much more substantial event occurred on March 6th with 18 tornadoes occurring in Iowa on that day.  This is the largest number of tornadoes in March on a given day in the historical record dating back to 1950.  These tornadoes occurred in the late afternoon to early evening hours in central and southern Iowa and into the late evening across far eastern Iowa.  There were four EF0s, eight EF1s and six EF2s on this day with the town of Seymour and Muscatine both sustaining EF2 damage.  The tornadoes were often long tracked, partly due to the rapid forward translation sometimes exceeding 60 mph.  There were a number of tornadoes in April and May with another substantial tornado day occurring on June 28th when 11 tornadoes were observed in portions of southern and eastern Iowa.  Fortunately, most of these tornadoes remained in rural locations with only minor damage reported despite the higher number of tornadoes. July and August also saw a number of tornadoes with an EF1 tornado hitting the town of McGregor and doing damage in business district.    The final lone tornado of 2017 actually occurred mostly in Missouri but crossed the Des Moines River into Lee county before dissipating.