Tornadoes in northeast Iowa, southeast Minnesota, and southwest and central Wisconsin
Main Tornado page

Background Information
Statistics (1850-Present)
Records (1850-Present)
Mitchell County (IA) Tornadoes*
1850-2006
Date Time Location Other 
Counties 
Affected		 Length
(miles)		 Width
(yards)		 Deaths** Injuries** F-Scale
Month Day Year
3 30 2005 1418-1419 CST Adams, MN 4S (state line) Mower 1 30 0 0 F0
  A small tornado touched down briefly near the Minnesota-Iowa state line just south of Adams, MN (Mower County). It damaged barns and outbuildings. This tornado caused approximately $7,500 in property damage.
3 30 2005 1413-1418 CST Stacyville to Stacyville 4NE None 4 50 0 0 F0
  A small tornado touched down briefly on the northwest side of Stacyville and destroyed a pole barn. This tornado caused approximately $15,000 in property damage.
3 30 2005 1404-1407 CST Osage 6W None 1 50 0 0 F0
  A small tornado occurred just west of Osage near Highway 9 and Echo Avenue. A car was turned upside down, while a board punctured the windshield of a pickup truck. In addition, a machine shed was demolished, which caused sheet metal to be blown several hundred
feet in all directions. This tornado caused approximately $10,000 in property damage.
6 16 2004 1347-1402 CST New Haven 2N to Osage 3E None 5 40 0 0 F0
  This weak tornado tracked approximately 5 miles across southern Mitchell County, but lifted on the Floyd County line. There was no reported damage.
6 11 2004 1617-1633 CST New Haven 4SE to New Haven 2E None 4 60 0 0 F1
 
This was the first of three tornadoes to be produced by a small but intense thunderstorm in northeast Iowa (two in Howard County and one in Mitchell County). This tornado touched down about 4 miles southeast of New Haven (south of 320th Street and between Walnut and Windfall Avenue). It tracked north, primarily in open fields, and lifted between 350th and 360th Street east of New Haven, or just west of Windfall Avenue. The tornado was rated an F1. This tornado caused an estimated $1,000 in property damage and $10,000 in crop damage.
8 17 1994 1756 CST Osage 3E None 0.2 25 0 0 F0
  A tornado touched down briefly in an open field. Large hail pelted sections of the county.
7 31 1994 1726-1730 CST Stacyville 2.5NW to Stacyville 1W None 1.5 35 0 0 F1
  Two farms were hit by this tornado west of Stacyville. The first farmstead had several buildings destroyed, while the second farm sustained building damage.
6 8 1993 1220-1230 CST Osage 4SSE to Osage 4.5E None 6 100 0 0 F2
  Mainly hitting open fields, this tornado did strike four farmsteads, damaging one severely. Several small out buildings and barns were damaged but the farm houses were spared.
3 24 1988 1622 CST Riceville 1S None 0.1 15 0 0 F0
  A machine shed was destroyed.
5 23 1981 1755 CST St.Ansgar 4.5S None 4 50 0 0 F2
  A trailer, three barns, three machine sheds, and a garage were destroyed.
6 3 1974 1735 CST ? None ? ? 0 0 F1
7 12 1971 1650 CST Grafton 1SE to Stacyville 1S Worth 18 300 0 0 F3
  This tornado moved northeast from southeast of Grafton (Worth County), passing 5 miles east-southeast of St.Ansgar, and south of Stacyville. Homes, barns, and other farm buildings were torn apart and scattered. Fifteen farms were severely damaged, and over 5,000 acres of grain were destroyed. A potato sack was carried for 7 miles. Known as the St.Ansgar Tornado.
6 26 1969 1520 CST ? None ? ? 0 0 F1
6 11 1966 1900 CST ? None ? ? 0 0 F2
5 5 1965 1945-2124 CST Nora Springs 2N (IA) to Yucatan (MN) Fillmore (MN)
Floyd
Houston (MN)
Howard
Winneshiek		 80 150 0 17 F4
  Moved east-northeast from 2 miles north of Nora Springs, passing 3 miles north of Cresco and lifting near Yucatan, MN. The only F4 damage was to two large farm houses, 3 miles northwest of Kendallville in Winneshiek County. About 28 farms lost buildings in Iowa. Six people were injured in Minnesota, as homes and barns were destroyed near Canton, Lenora, and Newburg (Fillmore County). Six people were injured in Floyd County and 5 in Howard County.
5 23 1954 1800 CST ? None ? ? 0 0 F2
6 19 1937 2130 CST Riceville 1W to Kendallville Howard
Winneshiek		 25 100 0 0 F2
  This tornado moved east-northeast from west of Riceville, passing near Davis Corners (Howard County), northwest of Cresco, to near Kendallville in Winneshiek County. A half dozen barns were damaged or destroyed.
6 23 1919 1825 CST Riceville 1SE None 5 ?? 0 0 F2
  An unusual tornado "smashed barns to kindling" and killed horses and cattle. The funnel made a complete loop and crossed its own path, all within a small area of Douglas Township. Some eye witnesses claimed that there were three tornadoes, and that two followed the exact same looping path.
9 21 1894 2115 CST Osage 2S to Riceville 6S to Cresco 10WSW Howard 25 ? 5 20 F4
  The tornado moved east northeast from 2 miles south of Osage to 6 miles south of Riceville to about 10 miles west southwest of Cresco.  Five or more homes were destroyed and five people were killed all in or near the community of "Lowther" (5 miles north of Elma) in Mitchell County.
9 21 1894 2030 CST Mason City (IA) 5NE to Spring Valley (MN) Cerro Gordo 
Fillmore (MN)
Mower (MN)		 60 800 16 70 F4
  This tornado moved northeast from 5 miles northeast of Mason City, Iowa killing at least 3 people in northeast Cerro Gordo County.  At least four people died in homes 4 miles northeast of Osage as 13 farm houses wee destroyed in that county.  At Leroy, Minnesota, damage totalled $120,000 as four people were killed and 80 buildings were damaged or destroyed including 35 homes.  Entire farms were leveled southwest of Spring Vally.  Ten homes were destroyed, five people killed and 35 injured in the northwest part of Spring Valley as losses there totalled $60,000.
6 23 1890 1800 CST Riceville 1NW to Saratoga 1S Howard ? 15 0 0 F2
  The tornado moved east southeast from northwest of Riceville to about 1 mile south of Saratoga.  Ten barns were damaged or destroyed across Howard County.  One home near Saratoga was shifted 8 feet, another was unroofed, and another house was hit by trees and lost its kitchen. 
* The data in this table came from Storm Data and Significant Tornadoes--1680-1991 by Thomas P. Grazulis.
 ** Injuries and Deaths are for the entire tornado track.

Last Updated Sunday, January 22, 2006 - Jeff Boyne

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