Cedar Rapids

Every recorded tornado

1. Injuries and deaths are for the tornado’s whole path, which may extend beyond this area.
2. Weak tornadoes were under-recorded before Doppler radar coverage became national in the early 1990s, so earlier decades read low. Ratings use the Fujita scale before February 2007 and the Enhanced Fujita scale after.

Storm Prediction Center severe weather database, 1950 to 2025.

Smoke overhead

1. A smoke day is a date on which a smoke plume traced by NOAA Hazard Mapping System analysts from satellite imagery covered this place's point (the county's population centre or the city centre). Counts here are of medium or heavy smoke. Since 2018 analysts have often drawn light smoke as one area over most of the continent, so light-smoke counts are not comparable from year to year. The plumes show smoke anywhere in the air above, not air quality at the ground, and smoke hidden by cloud is missed.

NOAA Hazard Mapping System smoke analysis, 2011 to 2026, retrieved October 30, 2026.

Flood insurance figures are for Linn County, the county that contains Cedar Rapids.

Claims by ZIP code

This product uses the Federal Emergency Management Agency's OpenFEMA API, but is not endorsed by FEMA. The Federal Government or FEMA cannot vouch for the data or analyses derived from these data after the data have been retrieved from the Agency's website(s).

OpenFEMA NFIP Redacted Claims v3, refreshed August 4, 2026. NOAA Storm Events through 2026.

River crests

River gauges in Linn County, the county that contains Cedar Rapids.

River gauges

1. Crests are the highest and the recent crests the National Weather Service lists for each river gauge in the county that has a flood stage, not every flood. Flood categories use each gauge's current flood stages; crests from before levees, dams or channel changes may not be comparable. Crests measured on an old datum are left out of the rankings.

NOAA National Water Prediction Service gauge records, retrieved October 30, 2026.

The drought index is for Linn County, the county that contains Cedar Rapids.

1. The Palmer Drought Severity Index is computed by NOAA each month from the county's average temperature and precipitation, relative to the county's own climate. Zero is normal; -3 or lower is severe drought and -4 or lower extreme drought. It describes the long-term balance of moisture, not water supply or crop losses.

NOAA NCEI nClimDiv county Palmer Drought Severity Index, 1895 to September 2026, issued October 6, 2026.

Mapped landslides

Landslides mapped in Linn County.

Mapped by NASA (1).

1. Landslides mapped in the USGS compilation of landslide inventories across the United States (version 3.0, 2025), rated probable or better. The compilation joins inventories made by federal and state agencies for different purposes and areas, so the number mapped in a county reflects how closely it has been surveyed as much as how often its slopes fail. An area with few records may simply not have been mapped. Deaths are as recorded in the inventories; a slide listed in two inventories is counted once.

USGS Landslide Inventories across the United States, version 3.0, retrieved October 27, 2026.

More event types since 1996

Costliest events since 1996

1. Jun 1, 2008Flood$750 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   The record crest on the Cedar River at Cedar Rapids occurred on June 13, 2008 at 31.12 feet. Flood stage is 12 feet. The previous record crest was 20.00 feet set on June 1, 1851. Damage estimates just in Cedar Rapids was at least $750 million.

2. Jul 20, 2003Thunderstorm Wind$5.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Supercell thunderstorms developed in the evening hours and formed an organized cluster around Waterloo, Iowa. As the storms moved southeast through Eastern Iowa they interacted with boundaries and produced 6 tornadoes with widespread wind damage in the Cedar Rapids metropolitan area. KCRG TV and KGAN TV in Cedar Rapids measured 63 knots (73 mph) and 53 knots (61 mph) respectively at their studios during the storm. At the height of the storm in Cedar Rapids, Alliant Energy reported that about half of its 70,000 customers in the Cedar Rapids area were without power. Sporatic wind damage then occurred from Cedar Rapids to the Mississippi River. Heavy rain accompanying the storms…

3. May 10, 2003Hail$3.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   A strong spring storm system moved through the Mississippi valley during the late afternoon and evening hours producing widespread severe weather. In an unprecedented move, WFO Quad Cities held a press conference the day before to warn of a high probability of significant tornadoes in the afternoon and evening hours of Saturday May 10th, with the area most at risk south of a Keosauqua, Iowa to Princeton, Illinois line. Supercell thunderstorms developed and continued into the evening hours spawning several long track tornadoes and produced copious amounts of large hail. Luckily, most of the tornado tracks were in open country and therefore damage was minimized.

4. Sep 26, 2016Flood$2.2 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Heavy rainfall of 4 to over 10 inches over significant areas from 21 to 23 September in extreme North Central and Northeast Iowa moved downstream causing the Cedar River to rise above major flood stage levels. ||Cedar Rapids rose above its major flood stage level of 16.0 feet on September 25th, 2016 at approximately 10 PM CST. It crested around 22.0 feet at approximately 8 AM CST on September 26th, 2016. It fell below major flood stage on September 30th around 6 AM CST.||Over 100 buildings and homes were impacted by the flooding. Dozens of blocks were closed of due to temporary barriers related to the flooding for a few to several days. ||Local agencies reported 27 roads were…

5. May 10, 2003Hail$2.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   A strong spring storm system moved through the Mississippi valley during the late afternoon and evening hours producing widespread severe weather. In an unprecedented move, WFO Quad Cities held a press conference the day before to warn of a high probability of significant tornadoes in the afternoon and evening hours of Saturday May 10th, with the area most at risk south of a Keosauqua, Iowa to Princeton, Illinois line. Supercell thunderstorms developed and continued into the evening hours spawning several long track tornadoes and produced copious amounts of large hail. Luckily, most of the tornado tracks were in open country and therefore damage was minimized.

6. Jul 20, 2003Tornado$2.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Tornado touched down near the intersection of Zelda Drive and E Avenue Northwest. The tornado moved southeast for 0.25 miles across Peace Avenue and then lifted on Floral Avenue. The tornado reached peak intensity on Peace Avenue where F2 winds unroofed 3 homes, and 26 other homes were heavily damaged. This was the first tornado inside the Cedar Rapids city limits since 1965.

7. May 4, 2003Thunderstorm Wind$1.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Several rounds of thunderstorms struck Eastern Iowa, far Northeast Missouri, and Nothern Illinois from mid afternoon through midnight. A wake low developed behind one line of storms and produced an extended period of wind over 43 knots (50 mph) across parts of Eastern Iowa and Northwest Illinois resulting in power outages and tree limbs down. In Southeast Iowa and West Central Illinois, thunderstorms trained over the same area producing mainly nuisance flooding. In Henderson County Illinois, Illinois Route 94 and numerous other roads were closed due to high water.

8. Feb 24, 2007Ice Storm, Linn$989,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   A spotter measured 0.6 inches of ice accumulation.

9. Apr 26, 2009Tornado$500,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   An EF1 tornado with estimated wind speeds of up to 100 mph touched down near Lafayette, IA around 452 pm and proceeded to track northeast crossing the Linn-Delaware County line around 510 pm, finally lifting just north of Buck Creek, IA around 530 pm. Several farms sustained structural and equipment damage, trees were uprooted or snapped off, some camping trailers were destroyed, and several power lines were blown down.

10. Sep 21, 2010Hail$500,000
    National Weather Service narrative

    Golf ball-sized hail fell in Marion, IA at 125 pm CDT September 21. This report was relayed by KCRG.

1. Storm Events records before 1996 cover only tornadoes, thunderstorm wind and hail. Damage figures are as reported by the National Weather Service at the time, not adjusted for inflation.

NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, 1950 to 2026, issued October 26, 2026.

All-time high

104°FJul 31, 1988

All-time low

−30°FJan 31, 2019

Warmest night

79°F4 times, most recently Aug 24, 2023

Coldest day

−15°FFeb 2, 1996

Wettest day

5.35 inAug 27, 2009

Snowiest day

12.0 inFeb 25, 1954

Hottest year

2024mean 52.2°F

Coldest year

1978mean 45.6°F

Wettest year

199360.46 in

Driest year

198819.31 in

Snowiest season

59.9 in2007-08

Station Cedar Rapids Municipal Airport (USW00014990), 840 ft elevation, 6.1 miles from the city centre. Daily records from 1953 to October 27, 2026; 99.7% of days in the last 30 years are complete. Records at a single station can differ from a city’s official threaded record, which may combine several stations.

NOAA NCEI Global Historical Climatology Network Daily.

Declarations for Linn County.

This product uses the Federal Emergency Management Agency's OpenFEMA API, but is not endorsed by FEMA. The Federal Government or FEMA cannot vouch for the data or analyses derived from these data after the data have been retrieved from the Agency's website(s).

OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries, retrieved October 30, 2026. Statewide declarations are not listed.

• Tornadoes NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather database, through 2025.
• Tropical cyclones NOAA National Hurricane Center HURDAT2 (Atlantic; Northeast and Central Pacific), through 2025.
• Wildfire USGS/USFS Monitoring Trends in Burn Severity, through 2026.
• Storm events NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, through 2026.
• Flood insurance OpenFEMA NFIP Redacted Claims v3, refreshed August 4, 2026.
• Declarations OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries v2, retrieved October 30, 2026.
• Weather records NOAA NCEI Global Historical Climatology Network Daily, station USW00014990.
• River crests NOAA National Weather Service, National Water Prediction Service river gauges, retrieved October 30, 2026.
• Drought NOAA NCEI nClimDiv county Palmer Drought Severity Index, through September 2026.
• Smoke NOAA NESDIS Hazard Mapping System smoke analysis, retrieved October 30, 2026.
• Landslides USGS Landslide Inventories across the United States, version 3.0 (2025).
• Earthquakes USGS ANSS Comprehensive Earthquake Catalog (ComCat), retrieved October 30, 2026.

Joins, thresholds and known limits are set out in the methodology. Found an error? Report it. Page built October 30, 2026.