1882 Grinnell tornado

Tornado summary

Shortly before the tornado, it was noted that "the northern sky was hung with conical, downard-pointing clouds, the like of which none of us had ever seen." The tornado touched down at night, moving to the west. Witnesses stated that the tornadic storm was accompanied by heavy rain and loud thunder. The tornado damaged buildings and foliage after touching down. Lightning was also produced by the storm as it continued to move to the west; a June 1882 publication of The Republican described that the tornado moved at exceptionally fast speeds, producing heavy damage but not damaging one place for more than a few minutes at a time. The publication also noted that the tornado remained relatively narrow along its track, despite producing exceptionally intense damage to areas it impacted directly.

The tornado was visible as it swiftly approached the town of Grinnell; the Grinnell College noted that "two tornadoes formed, one from the southwest and one from the north", indicating a possible twin tornado that accompanied the main tornado that was bearing down on Grinnell. The tornado killed 39 people in Grinnell, leveling dozens of homes and destroying the college campus located in the town. Along with the 39 people killed in Grinnell, the tornado killed a further ten people in the Rippey area, seven in Jasper County and ten more in Malcom.