As the summer nears an end, Iowa’s well behind in the number of tornadoes that’ve twisted through the state. The National Weather Service says just 30 tornadoes have been recorded in Iowa thus far — the annual average since 1960 is 45. Those tornadoes that have been spotted were mostly weak storms. State Climatologist Harry Hillaker says that’s been the case with the severe weather in Iowa this year — even during the top storm months. The 30 tornadoes this year are one fewer than recorded all of last year. The two relatively quiet years follow the record year of 2001 when 105 twisters touched down.
