What the record says
On 16 September 1978, a tornado touched down near Rhodes, Iowa. The Storm Prediction Center records its path as 31.8 miles long and up to 200 yards wide, rated F3 on the Fujita (F) scale. It killed 6 people and injured 45.
- F3Fujita rating
- 6deaths
- 45injuries
- 31.8 mipath length
- 200 ydmaximum width
It has its own page because it killed three or more people and it was rated 3 and killed at least one person.
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 41.97, -93.18 and the end point at 41.65, -92.70 (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
- Oelwein, Iowa tornado15 May 1968, F5, 5 deaths, 156 injuries, 13.1 miles long
- Nodaway, Iowa tornado21 May 2024, EF4, 5 deaths, 35 injuries, 40.7 miles long
Other notable tornadoes of 1978
- Lyndon, Kansas tornado17 June 1978, F1, 16 deaths, 3 injuries, 7.3 miles long
- Elgin, North Dakota tornado4 July 1978, F4, 5 deaths, 35 injuries, 26 miles long
- Monticello, Mississippi tornado18 April 1978, F4, 4 deaths, 31 injuries, 19.1 miles long
- Gary, Minnesota tornado5 July 1978, F2, 4 deaths, 44 injuries, 57.5 miles long
- Westmoreland, Kansas tornado31 May 1978, F3, 3 deaths, 1 injury, 37 miles long
All tornadoes of 1978 · Iowa tornado history · All notable tornadoes