Des Moines County

Every recorded tornado

1. Injuries and deaths are for the tornado’s whole path, which may extend beyond the county. Deaths recorded within Des Moines County: 0.
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.

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

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.

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.

Every earthquake of magnitude 4 or more within 50 miles

1. Earthquakes of magnitude 2.5 or more in the USGS Comprehensive Catalog since 1900. Within 50 miles means the epicentre lies within 50 miles of the county boundary (or inside the county).
2. Small earthquakes were under-recorded before the modern seismic networks of the 1970s and are still missed in remote areas, so early decades read low. Magnitudes are as the catalogue reports them and mix scales (moment, local and body-wave).

USGS ANSS Comprehensive Earthquake Catalog, 1900 to present, retrieved October 30, 2026.

Mapped landslides

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. May 8, 2003Hail$10.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   The first of 3 severe weather events occurred across Northeast Missouri, Eastern Iowa, and the Northern third of Illinois. Supercell thunderstorms developed in the late afternoon and evening north of a warm front that was associated with a powerful spring storm system. Favorable moisture and shear profiles allowed the storms to produce large hail and heavy rain. In Fort Madison, Iowa it was reported to be the most hail seen since 1993 with a car dealership reporting damage to about 400 cars on its lot along with numerous cars and buildings. In the Burlington, Iowa area, the most severe damage from the hail was on the south side of the city. Three schools and a golf course were…

2. May 12, 2010Flash Flood$4.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Heavy rains resulted in the flash flooding of parts of Des Moines County during the early morning hours of May 12. The Burlington area and locations north were some of the hardest hit areas. The flood waters were 10 to 12 inches deep south of Agency Road. In addition, the intersection of Highway 61 and Roosevelt Avenue was flooded with some vehicles stalled out in the flood waters. Several homes and businesses had water in basements with some flooded with over 7 feet of water. Parts of Tama Road and Plank Road were washed out. In other areas, landslides spilled onto some streets. Several businesses along Jefferson Street also sustained flood damage and loss of property.

3. Jun 1, 2008Flood$3.8 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   The record crest on the Mississippi River at Burlington occurred on June 17, 2008 at 25.73 feet. Flood stage is 15 feet.

4. May 8, 2003Hail$2.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   The first of 3 severe weather events occurred across Northeast Missouri, Eastern Iowa, and the Northern third of Illinois. Supercell thunderstorms developed in the late afternoon and evening north of a warm front that was associated with a powerful spring storm system. Favorable moisture and shear profiles allowed the storms to produce large hail and heavy rain. In Fort Madison, Iowa it was reported to be the most hail seen since 1993 with a car dealership reporting damage to about 400 cars on its lot along with numerous cars and buildings. In the Burlington, Iowa area, the most severe damage from the hail was on the south side of the city. Three schools and a golf course were…

5. May 21, 2003Flood, Des Moines$1.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   A pattern change at the end of April brought a series of heavy rain producing systems to Eastern Iowa and Northern Illinois over the first 10 days of the month. Area rivers responded with the Iowa River going above flood stage starting on the 10th. The Cedar and Wapsipinicon Rivers followed by going above flood stage around the 15th. The Mississippi River also went above flood stage, beginning around the 20th. Most tributaries went below flood stage around the 20th, and most locations on the Mississippi that were above flood stage went below by the 28th.Most of the flooding was minor. One location-the Mississippi River at Gladstone Dam 18-experienced moderate flooding. Most…

6. May 8, 2003Hail$1.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   The first of 3 severe weather events occurred across Northeast Missouri, Eastern Iowa, and the Northern third of Illinois. Supercell thunderstorms developed in the late afternoon and evening north of a warm front that was associated with a powerful spring storm system. Favorable moisture and shear profiles allowed the storms to produce large hail and heavy rain. In Fort Madison, Iowa it was reported to be the most hail seen since 1993 with a car dealership reporting damage to about 400 cars on its lot along with numerous cars and buildings. In the Burlington, Iowa area, the most severe damage from the hail was on the south side of the city. Three schools and a golf course were…

7. May 8, 2003Hail$1.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   The first of 3 severe weather events occurred across Northeast Missouri, Eastern Iowa, and the Northern third of Illinois. Supercell thunderstorms developed in the late afternoon and evening north of a warm front that was associated with a powerful spring storm system. Favorable moisture and shear profiles allowed the storms to produce large hail and heavy rain. In Fort Madison, Iowa it was reported to be the most hail seen since 1993 with a car dealership reporting damage to about 400 cars on its lot along with numerous cars and buildings. In the Burlington, Iowa area, the most severe damage from the hail was on the south side of the city. Three schools and a golf course were…

8. Sep 13, 2008Flood$500,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   The Skunk River near Augusta, IA experienced major flooding from the evening of September 13 to the late afternoon of September 15. It crested near 21.4 feet during the evening of September 14. The major flood stage level is 20.0 feet.

9. Feb 24, 2007Ice Storm, Des Moines$434,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   A spotter in Burlington reported trees, limbs and power lines down, some blocking roads and on top of cars. Transformers also on fire. Most of city without power. A spotter 3N Burlington reported over 1 1/2 inch thick ice accumulation, with major tree damage to farm. Most trees had at least half their branches broken off. One tree was 100 years old.

10. Jun 20, 2015Tornado$300,000
    National Weather Service narrative

    An EF1 tornado touched down briefly on the northwest side of the Iowa Army Ammunition Plant and tracked southeast for about 3 miles. Trees, roofs, outbuildings, power poles, and vehicles were damaged along the path. The maximum wind was estimated at 95 mph.

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

111°F2 times, most recently Jul 15, 1936

All-time low

−27°FFeb 13, 1905

Warmest night

84°FJul 27, 1936

Coldest day

−10°FFeb 3, 1996

Wettest day

6.28 inJun 29, 1933

Snowiest day

13.5 inJan 26, 1967

Hottest year

1998mean 57.3°F

Coldest year

1917mean 48.1°F

Wettest year

201054.13 in

Driest year

195622.87 in

Snowiest season

68.2 in1911-12

Station Burlington Municipal Airport (USW00014931), 683 ft elevation, 4.4 miles from the population centre. Daily records from 1897 to October 26, 2026; 99.6% 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.

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.

Neighbouring counties

• 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 USW00014931.
• 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.