Dubuque County

Every recorded tornado

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

More event types since 1996

Costliest events since 1996

1. May 17, 1999Flash Flood$16.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Five to six feet of water flooded city streets in downtown. Major road damage resulted, including buckled roads and pavement washed away. Approximately 25 residential blocks were affected. Basements in over 60 houses were flooded with water from 2 feet deep up to the rafters. Flooding was reported between 20th and 28th Streets and between between Washington and Jackson streets. State damage estimates were set at $17 million in Dubuque.

2. Jul 27, 2011Flash Flood$7.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Torrential downpours of rain fell across much of Dubuque County during the evening of July 27 and early morning hours of July 28 resulting in flash flooding of much of the county, especially in Dubuque, IA. Rainfall totals of 7 to 15 inches were common across the area, with most of the rain falling in under 12 hours.||Numerous roads and bridges were washed out and many others closed, causing Dubuque County to run out of barricades. Several neighborhoods were evacuated, including the Valley Hill trailer park where the water was 6 feet deep. Many creeks in the area raged out of their banks, including Catfish Creek. Very early estimates of damage to infrastructure alone exceeded $3…

3. Jun 1, 2008Flood$6.4 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Major to record flooding occurred during the month of June 2008 with most forecast points above flood stage for the majority of the month. The flooding during this month was more prolific and severe than the flooding in April 2008, and the flooding in April had been the most prolific flood event since 1997.||While some locations were still experiencing flooding as June began, many of the tributary rivers to the Mississippi in Iowa rose above flood stage during the first few days of the month. At locations that were already above flood stage, the rivers stopped their fall and began climbing again.||Persistent heavy rain from late May into early June resulted in record crests on the…

4. May 16, 1999Flash Flood$5.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Flash flooding along the The North Fork of the Maquoketa River caused extensive damage in Dyersville. Numerous businesses across town sustained major damage. The costliest damage occurred at Scale Models, which sustained an estimated $150,000 in damage. Other businesses reported flooding to depths of 7 feet in their basements. About 100 people were evacuated from 60 homes. State officials set the preliminary damage estimates from Dyersville at $3 to $5 million.

5. Jul 5, 2003Thunderstorm Wind$1.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   A MCS thunderstorm complex bowed out and raced across Eastern Iowa and Northwest Illinois in the pre dawn hours. Due to high freezing levels, hail was minimal. Along the Highway 20 corridor in Northeast Iowa and Northwest Illinois winds were estimated at 60 to 70 knots in places (70-80 mph). The cities of Dubuque, Iowa and Freeport, Illinois were particularly hard hit with many trees downed or uprooted. In Stephenson County Illinois, a well defined path of straight line winds was noted from 5 miles West of Freeport, across the northern part of the city, and east to the Stephenson/Winnebago county line. On the US 20 bypass around Freeport at Jct IL 75 five (5) 90 foot high voltage…

6. Jul 27, 2011Flash Flood$1.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Torrential downpours of rain fell across much of Dubuque County during the evening of July 27 and early morning hours of July 28 resulting in flash flooding of much of the county, especially in Dubuque, IA. Rainfall totals of 7 to 15 inches were common across the area, with most of the rain falling in under 12 hours. Significant street flooding began between 7 and 8 pm and escalated as the night continued.

7. Apr 3, 2011Hail$1.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Golf ball sized hail fell 1 mile north of Worthington, IA around 722 pm CDT April 3.

8. May 20, 2003Flood, Dubuque$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…

9. Jul 18, 2007Flash Flood$500,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Rainfall totals of 2 to 6 inches over a 7 hour period resulted in numerous flooded roads, creeks, streams, and rivers throughout Dubuque County. The following locations reported flooding during this event: Rupp Hollow Rd, W Locust St and 22nd St, 17th St and Locust St, all along Locust St, Downtown Dubuque, Highway 52 on the north side of town, Highway 52 and Clayhill Rd, 22nd St and White St, many roads north of Highway 20, English Mill Rd and N Cascade Rd, Paradise Valley Rd and Highway 52, and several areas along Highway 52 from Sageville, IA to Holy Cross, IA. It was also reported that portions of the Maquoketa River was well out of its banks and the river level was rising rapidly.

10. Jul 22, 2010Flash Flood$500,000
    National Weather Service narrative

    Heavy rains of 4 to 8 inches which fell in about 12 hours resulted in flash flooding of much of Dubuque County during the morning of July 23. At 1245 am CDT, about 15 inches of water was flowing in some streets in Dubuque as torrential rains continued. At 122 am CDT, the baseball field near the junction of Coffee Creek and the North Fork Maquoketa River in New Vienna was flooded with 4 feet of water. In addition, the North Fork of the Maquoketa River flooded and flood waters started to reach the edges of some residences in town. By 539 am CDT, Highway 52 north of Dubuque was closed due to flooding.||In Dyersville, both Bear Creek and the North Fork Maquoketa River overtopped,…

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

101°F2 times, most recently Jul 25, 2012

All-time low

−31°FJan 31, 2019

Warmest night

77°F4 times, most recently Jun 30, 2026

Coldest day

−16°FJan 30, 2019

Wettest day

8.85 inSep 14, 1967

Snowiest day

15.0 inMar 5, 1959

Hottest year

2024mean 51.3°F

Coldest year

2014mean 43.9°F

Wettest year

196163.39 in

Driest year

198822.57 in

Snowiest season

79.7 in2007-08

Station Dubuque Regional Airport (USW00094908), 1,040 ft elevation, 7.1 miles from the population centre. Daily records from 1951 to October 26, 2026; 99.9% 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 USW00094908.
• 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.