What the record says
On 12 July 1971, a tornado touched down near Elma, Iowa. The Storm Prediction Center records its path as 10.9 miles long and up to 1,320 yards wide, rated F4 on the Fujita (F) scale. It injured 8 people.
- F4Fujita rating
- 0deaths
- 8injuries
- 10.9 mipath length
- 1,320 ydmaximum width
It has its own page because it was rated 4 or 5.
This page gives the official record's figures. Numbers of deaths and injuries are sometimes revised after a survey, and they cannot convey what the day was like for the people who lived through it.
Counties it crossed
The start point was at 43.23, -92.45 and the end point at 43.07, -92.05 (latitude, longitude).
How to read this path
The Storm Prediction Center records most tornadoes as a straight line from the point where they touched down to the point where they lifted. The real path usually curved and was not the same width all the way along. The width given is the widest part. Older records are less precise, and the record starts in 1950.
Source: the NOAA Storm Prediction Center database, public domain.
Other notable tornadoes in Iowa
- Hansell, Iowa tornado15 May 1968, F5, 13 deaths, 462 injuries, 62.1 miles long
- Cedar Falls, Iowa tornado25 May 2008, EF5, 9 deaths, 70 injuries, 41 miles long
- Belmond, Iowa tornado14 October 1966, F5, 6 deaths, 172 injuries, 9.7 miles long
- Newton, Iowa tornado5 March 2022, EF4, 6 deaths, 5 injuries, 70.6 miles long
- Rhodes, Iowa tornado16 September 1978, F3, 6 deaths, 45 injuries, 31.8 miles long
- Oelwein, Iowa tornado15 May 1968, F5, 5 deaths, 156 injuries, 13.1 miles long
Other notable tornadoes of 1971
- Cary, Mississippi tornado21 February 1971, F4, 58 deaths, 795 injuries, 202.1 miles long
- Delhi, Louisiana tornado21 February 1971, F5, 47 deaths, 510 injuries, 109.2 miles long
- Edwards, Mississippi tornado21 February 1971, F4, 13 deaths, 182 injuries, 65.2 miles long
- Duck Hill, Mississippi tornado4 February 1971, F2, 7 deaths, 6.1 miles long
- Greensburg, Kentucky tornado27 April 1971, F4, 6 deaths, 58 injuries, 14.1 miles long
All tornadoes of 1971 · Iowa tornado history · All notable tornadoes