Marshall County, IA Environment & Hazard Risk

• DroughtRelatively High$4.38M/yr expected annual loss, about 7.1 events a year
• Strong windRelatively High$1.65M/yr expected annual loss, about 6.4 events a year
• Winter weatherRelatively Moderate$268K/yr expected annual loss, about 16 events a year
• TornadoRelatively Moderate$4.49M/yr expected annual loss, about once every 2 years
• HailRelatively Moderate$926K/yr expected annual loss, about 6.2 events a year
• WildfireVery Low$97.07K/yr expected annual loss, about once every 809 years
• LandslideVery Low$1,402/yr expected annual loss, about once every 9 years
• Ice stormRelatively Low$84.47K/yr expected annual loss, about once every 2 years
• Cold waveRelatively Low$685K/yr expected annual loss, about 7.9 events a year
• EarthquakeVery Low$57.36K/yr expected annual loss, about once every 1,686 years
• LightningRelatively Low$93.29K/yr expected annual loss, about 43 events a year
• HurricaneVery Low$3,815/yr expected annual loss, about once every 107 years
• Heat waveVery Low$18.41K/yr expected annual loss, about 4.9 events a year

Bars show the national percentile score (0 to 100) for each hazard. Dollar figures are expected annual losses to buildings, people and crops. Not rated here: avalanche, coastal flooding, riverine flooding, tsunami, volcanic activity.

Check the flood zone for an address

Homes with flood insurance

27 of 17,985 (0.1%)

Homes in high-risk flood zones

470

Insured in high-risk zones

18 (4%)

Flood claims since 1978

30

Claims paid since 1978

$175K

• Thunderstorm Wind166
• Hail130
• Flood67
• Heavy Rain50
• High Wind47
• Drought30
• Winter Storm28
• Flash Flood23
• Tornado22
• Funnel Cloud19

• Flood06/01/2008

  Minerva, Marshall County

  $250M damage

  What happened

  Iowa came off of a very wet May, only to be followed by a near record wet June. Some of the flooding along Iowa's rivers continued from May into June. Heavy rains fell on a nearly daily basis somewhere in Iowa through the first half of the month. The first series of heavy rain events caused flooding over a large part of Iowa. Some of the flooding began as flash flooding, then transitioned into general river flooding. A considerable amount of agricultural land was put under water due to the extensive river flooding. This began what would be a catastrophic loss in agricultural production.

• TornadoEF3, 8.41 mi path, 1,200 yd wide07/19/2018

  Marietta, Marshall County

  23 injured, $200M damage

  What happened

  This tornado developed northwest of Marshalltown west of the little hamlet of Marietta. The tornado traveled southeast on the western side of the Iowa River producing extensive crop and tree damage. The tornado strengthened quickly and took on a wedge appearance as it entered northwest Marshalltown. The tornado tracked more easterly as it entered town producing widespread EF1 and EF2 damage. The tornado went directly through the business district of Marshalltown with EF2 and EF3 damage to many structures including the county courthouse which lost the spire off the clock tower. The tornado continued east through housing areas before encountering the Lennox plant on the east side of town, producing EF3 damage once again. The tornado began to weaken rapidly after this point and dissipated near power plant located on the east side of town. The tornado produced a total of 22 direct injuries. An additional indirect injury resulted during the clean-up of storm debris when a tree fell on a man.

• Drought07/01/2012

  Marshall

  $45M damage

  What happened

  Very warm and dry weather that began in the spring continued into the summer. Temperatures warmed sharply the last few days of June. The heat persisted into July. Temperatures for the month of July were among the warmest on record. In Des Moines, the monthly mean temperature was the second highest of record, only eclipsed by July of 1936. Rainfall was in short supply across the state. Much of the state recorded less than 50% of normal rainfall for the month, with a few locations under 10% of normal. In addition, extended periods of temperatures above 95 F resulted in problems with pollination of the crops. Rapid deterioration of the corn and soybean crop took place with several periods of temperatures in excess of 100 degrees. By the end of the month, officials estimated that 20% of the crop yield had been lost to the drought. At the current price, the loss total was in excess of $2.25 billion. As of 31 July, the USDA reported that Secretarial Primary Drought Designations had been listed for 21 counties in the Des Moines CWA, with 11 receiving Contiguous Designation. The primary counties were Butler, Bremer, Hamilton, Hardin, Grundy, Black Hawk, Boone, Story,...

• Drought08/01/2013

  Marshall

  $21M damage

  What happened

  Serious drought conditions gripped the state through the summer months. Initial sub-soil moisture was good at the beginning of the growing season. The recharged soil was sufficient to maintain the crops through a good part of the summer. Rainfall remained low through August as well and crops deteriorated rapidly under the warmer than normal and very dry conditions. Rainfall for the summer was between 1/3 and 2/3rds of normal across much of the Des Moines CWA. A large part of the CWA received under 5% of normal rainfall in August, with most areas under 20%. Crop loss through the month was around 10%. This translated to over $600 million in crop loss for the corn crop, and about $350 million for soybeans.

• Flood06/12/2010

  St Anthony, Marshall County

  $20M damage

  What happened

  Heavy rainfall during the month of June caused considerable crop losses across the state. Crop damage was done through a combination of inundation flooding and losses due to crops not being able to be planted or rotting in the ground. It is not possible to get a clear breakdown of the percent of damage that can be attributed to each cause. The damage here is not related to the river flooding. Those flooding events are addressed in other flooding entries. Many of the southern Iowa counties were unable to plant crops at all through June, while areas of the central and north lost the crops that were planted through drowning or washouts. Estimates from the state and county extension offices indicated that about 10% of the crop was lost across the state. The amount of loss in the DMX CWA was around $1 billion to the corn and soybean crop. By the end of the month, Iowa Governor Culver declared 32 counties state disaster areas. They were Black Hawk, Buena Vista, Butler, Cherokee, Clay, Davis, Decatur, Emmet, Franklin, Hamilton, Hancock, Howard, Humboldt, Jasper, Jefferson, Kossuth, Lee, Lyon, Mahaska, Madison, Marion, Monroe, O'Brien, Osceola, Palo Alto, Polk, Ringgold,...

• Drought08/01/2003

  Marshall

  $12.65M damage

  What happened

  Dry weather settled in over Iowa during the month. The last widespread rain occurred on 09 July. With the increasingly dry conditions became a primary concern as the month progressed. An extended period of heat and humidity from the 15th to 25th saw highs into the 90s to over 100 degrees F. in some locations. By month's end drought indices had worsened to severe to extreme drought across south central Iowa and at least moderate drought over the remainder of the HSA. Waterloo had its driest August on record, Des Moines its 3rd driest and Ottumwa its 8th driest. A cold front brought only a brief respite from the intense heat, as temperatures rebounded into the 90s to near 100 degrees F. on the 24-26th. Des Moines Airport reached the century mark for the first time since July 29, 1999, reaching 100 F. on the 24th and 101 F. on the 25th. This was followed by a slow cool down as several pushes of cooler air traversed the state. Unfortunately there was only widely scattered convection across the HSA on the 27th and 28th, providing little significant drought relief. Light to moderate rainfall on the 31st fell across primarily the southern one half of the HSA, with the heaviest...

• Heavy Snow02/20/2026

  Marshall

• Hail0.75" hail09/16/2025

  Ferguson, Marshall County

• Thunderstorm Wind50 kt wind07/30/2025

  Marshalltown Arpt, Marshall County

• Thunderstorm Wind52 kt wind06/20/2025

  Marshalltown, Marshall County

• Thunderstorm Wind50 kt wind06/20/2025

  Marshalltown Arpt, Marshall County

• Thunderstorm Wind52 kt wind06/20/2025

  Albion Leise Arpt, Marshall County

• Thunderstorm Wind54 kt wind06/20/2025

  Albion Leise Arpt, Marshall County

• Heavy Rain06/20/2025

  Marshalltown, Marshall County

• Ia Regional Utilities Assoc (Waverly)Serves 37,820 · Groundwater · PrivateNo health violations
• Marshalltown Water WorksServes 27,680 · Groundwater · Local governmentNo health violations
• State Center Muni Water DeptServes 1,411 · Groundwater · Local governmentNo health violations
• Le Grand Water WorksServes 910 · Purchased groundwater · Local governmentNo health violations
• Melbourne Water SupplyServes 765 · Purchased groundwater · Local governmentNo health violations
• Gilman Water SupplyServes 582 · Purchased groundwater · Local governmentNo health violations
• Sunset VillageServes 528 · Purchased groundwater · PrivateNo health violations+1 monitoring or reporting
• Albion Water DepartmentServes 448 · Groundwater · Local governmentNo health violations+10 monitoring or reporting