Dickinson County

Every recorded tornado

1. Injuries and deaths are for the tornado’s whole path, which may extend beyond the county. Deaths recorded within Dickinson 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.

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.

More event types since 1996

Costliest events since 1996

1. Apr 9, 2013Winter Storm, Dickinson$10.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   An extended period of precipitation began with freezing rain quickly producing heavy ice accumulations, ranging up to between a quarter and half inch. The precipitation then changed to sleet and then snow, with sleet and snow accumulations reaching 3 to 6 inches. Many branches, limbs, whole trees, and power lines were downed by the weight of ice and accompanying wind. Both urban areas and rural electric cooperatives suffered major power line damage. Trees and tree debris blocked many roads, and damaged several vehicles and homes. Major power outages were reported, affecting thousands of people. The winter precipitation made travel impossible in many areas, resulting in schools and…

2. Jun 21, 2024Flood$1.9 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Rainfall amounts across Dickinson County from June 20-22 ranged from 5 to 10 inches. Widespread overland flooding ensued with additional major to record flooding along the West Fork Little Sioux and Little Sioux Rivers. Lakeshore flooding was also observed across the Iowa Great Lakes. ||There were over 550 locations across the county where water crossed the road or there was severe gravel wash. Three bridges were also damaged and closed. Preliminary damage assessments estimate loss to public infrastructure to be 1.9 million dollars. ||County-wide, hundreds of homes reported flood damage with water or sewage in their basements. There were approximately 25 lakeshore homes with water…

3. Jun 12, 2001Hail$500,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Large hail caused severe damage to vehicles and also damaged buildings. Crop damage was suspected in the area but no estimates were available.

4. Mar 13, 2019Flood$300,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Snow melt and heavy rainfall (measured 1.78 inches 4 miles northwest of Milford and 1.59 inches 3 miles south southeast of Lake Park) resulted in significant flooding of agricultural lands and several county roads. Little Sioux River near Milford (gage site MIFI4) reached the second highest stage on record cresting 6.02 feet above flood stage on March 18.

5. Jun 12, 2001Thunderstorm Wind$300,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Thunderstorm winds caused widespread tree damage, including large trees blown down. Some of the trees landed on vehicles and houses and caused further damage.

6. Aug 17, 2019Thunderstorm Wind$250,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   A widespread swath of wind damage occurred from the eastern shores of West Okoboji Lake to the eastern shore of East Okoboji Lake. Areas near West Lake Okoboji featured limb and minor building damage with wind speeds of 65 to 75 mph. However, more significant damage occurred east of Highway 71 where large trees were snapped and an office building severely damaged with wind gusts from 75 to 93 mph.

7. Apr 7, 2001High Wind, Dickinson$200,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   High winds caused widespread tree, sign, and roof damage. Other damage to structures, such as siding and windows, also occurred. The Spencer Livestock Sales facility was heavily damaged with fences blown down and the wall of one building blown down, although there were no reports of livestock lost.

8. Dec 15, 2021Tornado$200,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   A tornado spun up 3 miles east-northeast of Fostoria one-half mile south of 260th Street east of 250th Avenue. The tornado tracked north just east of 250th Avenue, and snapped several power poles along 260th and 250th Streets. Two farms between 250th and 240th Streets were struck by the tornado, which peeled back the roof of an outbuilding and damaged several large trees. The most significant damage occurred along 235th Street where a portion of the south-facing roof was removed from a house and an outbuilding to the north of the house was destroyed. The tornado tracked through open fields for another mile before it lifted 2 miles east of Milford. The average path width was 25…

9. Mar 14, 2002Winter Storm, Dickinson$200,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Widespread icing from freezing rain made travel difficult, and at times impossible. Damage to power lines and trees occurred, especially in the Spirit Lake area, where significant power outages were reported for the second time in a week. One to three inches of snow fell on top of the ice, except in northwestern Lyon County where up to 5 inches fell.

10. Mar 13, 2019Flood$190,000
    National Weather Service narrative

    Water was over County Road A34 in multiple locations west of Milford, as well as over roads in other nearby areas. Other flooding resulted in damage to public infrastructure including county roads and culverts.

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

103°FJul 31, 1955

All-time low

−34°FJan 3, 2010

Warmest night

82°FJul 18, 1926

Coldest day

−16°F2 times, most recently Jan 18, 1994

Wettest day

6.20 inJun 24, 2018

Snowiest day

14.0 inJan 22, 2018

Hottest year

1987mean 50.1°F

Coldest year

1951mean 42.3°F

Wettest year

201851.37 in

Driest year

195812.70 in

Snowiest season

66.7 in2009-10

Station Milford 4 Nw (USC00135493), 1,456 ft elevation, 2.6 miles from the population centre. Daily records from 1919 to October 23, 2026; 97.2% 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 USC00135493.
• 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.
• 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.