Osceola County

Every recorded tornado

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

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, Osceola$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 6 inches near Sibley. 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…

2. Jun 25, 2010Tornado$3.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   A tornado, moving into Osceola County from Lyon County, destroyed at least two houses, injuring two people in one of them. the tornado also destroyed several garages and severely damaged several other homes, destroyed at least 4 hog confinement buildings, several barns and silos, and numerous outbuildings. The tornado destroyed three vehicles that had been parked under an Iowa Highway 60 overpass, injuring 11 people in the vehicles, and removing the engine from one of the vehicles. The tornado damaged power lines, causing power outages, and caused damage to trees and crops. The tornado also destroyed a shelter belt and severely damaged heavy farm equipment, removing the wheels…

3. Mar 13, 2019Flood$2.6 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Flooding resulted in extensive damage to public infrastructure including numerous county and township roads, culverts, and some bridges.

4. Jun 20, 2024Flood$2.1 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Rainfall amounts across Osceola County from June 20-22 ranged from 7 to 9 inches. This rain resulted in widespread overland flooding across the county. ||A shelter in Sibley was opened after approximately 25 homes were evacuated due to flood waters. There was at least one swift water rescue. No homes or businesses were destroyed, but there were many reports of water up to the first level with significant water damage in basements. ||Numerous roads were damaged across the county. Two pump motors were destroyed at the Sibley Wastewater Treatment Plant. The May City water wells were contaminated. The Ashton water main from rural water was destroyed and a rural bridge near Ashton was…

5. Jun 27, 1998Tornado$500,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   A tornado hit 8 farms, completely destroying one, and damaging others. The damage included farm buildings destroyed and damaged, sheep killed, a grain bin blown over, and tree damage.

6. Aug 18, 2017Tornado$300,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   EF-2 tornado damaged three farm places. No one was home at any of the places impacted by the tornado. 20 to 30 head of cattle were missing after the storm.

7. Jun 13, 2001Thunderstorm Wind$200,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Thunderstorm winds caused widespread tree damage, blew down power lines, and destroyed or damaged several large sheds and a silo on a farm. The severe winds also resulted in four calves being killed.

8. Jul 18, 1998Thunderstorm Wind$200,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Thunderstorm winds caused extensive tree damage, blew down power lines, blew a garage off its foundation into another garage, and damaged playground equipment at the city park. Several vehicles and homes were damaged by wind blown tree debris and other wind blown objects.

9. Apr 10, 2019Ice Storm, Osceola$112,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Ice accumulated to one-quarter to one-third inch, mainly across the northern half of the county, and mainly from late evening on April 10 through early morning April 11. As winds increased early April 11 with gusts reaching 45 to 50 mph at times, power poles and transmission lines bore the brunt of the worst conditions. More than a dozen power poles were snapped by the weight of the ice accumulation and stress of the high winds. Several roads were closed due to power structures across roadways. Property damage costs include damage to utilities.

10. Jun 13, 2001Thunderstorm Wind$100,000
    National Weather Service narrative

    Thunderstorm winds destroyed an airplane hangar, a small airplane in the hangar, and a machine shed.

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

108°FJul 17, 1936

All-time low

−40°F2 times, most recently Jan 12, 1912

Warmest night

78°F2 times, most recently Aug 2, 1964

Coldest day

−18°FJan 25, 1904

Wettest day

6.03 inSep 22, 1895

Snowiest day

21.0 inFeb 18, 1962

Hottest year

1970mean 49.1°F

Coldest year

1993mean 40.3°F

Wettest year

201853.77 in

Driest year

197614.38 in

Snowiest season

80.7 in1982-83

Station Sibley (USC00137664), 1,532 ft elevation, 3.6 miles from the population centre. Daily records from 1893 to October 26, 2026; 92.9% 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 USC00137664.
• 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.