Community preparedness — Iowa
Tornadoes, derechos, river flooding, blizzards, and the kind of straight-line winds most people didn't know existed. ISU Extension in every county, CERT teams across the state, and a SKYWARN spotter network that watches the most active severe weather corridor in the Midwest. Here's how to find yours.
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Community calendar
CERT trainings, canning workshops, ham radio exams, garden workdays, first aid classes. Events from local organizations that build community resilience.
99
County extension offices
5
NWS offices (incl. shared)
30+
Amateur radio clubs
15
Community colleges
Where to plug in
Iowa sits in the heart of severe weather country. Tornadoes, derechos, river flooding along the Mississippi and Missouri, blizzards, and ice storms are annual facts of life. Iowa's 99 counties are served by one of the strongest extension systems in the Midwest and a volunteer infrastructure that runs deep in every small town. The organizations below are how Iowa stays ready.
Iowa State University Extension and Outreach serves all 99 Iowa counties through county and regional offices. Iowa's enormous agricultural economy (corn, soybeans, hogs, cattle, eggs) means extension agents are embedded in the fabric of every farming community. Programming spans agriculture, horticulture, food safety, nutrition, financial literacy, community and economic development, and 4-H youth development.
The Master Gardener program trains hundreds of volunteers annually. Extension runs food preservation workshops, farm management education, soil and water conservation programs, and severe weather preparedness. After the 2020 derecho devastated Iowa's corn and soybean crops, extension agents were the primary resource connecting farm families with disaster recovery programs. Your county extension office is the most underused free resource in Iowa.
Iowa Homeland Security and Emergency Management (HSEMD) coordinates the state's all-hazards emergency program. HSEMD works through county emergency management coordinators across all 99 counties and maintains the state emergency operations center in Johnston. Iowa's EM system is shaped by frequent tornadoes, derechos, Mississippi and Missouri River flooding, blizzards, and ice storms.
CERT programs are active across Iowa. Polk County (Des Moines), Linn County (Cedar Rapids), Scott County (Davenport), Black Hawk County (Waterloo), and Johnson County (Iowa City) run established programs. After the August 2020 derecho — which caused over $11 billion in damage and was one of the costliest thunderstorm events in U.S. history — CERT and community emergency preparedness interest grew significantly. Training is free.
American Red Cross chapters serve all of Iowa through the Iowa Region, with chapters in Des Moines, Cedar Rapids, Davenport, Iowa City, Sioux City, and other communities. All offer first aid, CPR, AED, and water safety classes year-round.
During the 2020 derecho, Red Cross opened shelters across central and eastern Iowa as hundreds of thousands lost power and thousands of homes were damaged. The Cedar Rapids metro was especially hard-hit, and Red Cross volunteers provided meals, supplies, and shelter for weeks during recovery. Iowa Red Cross chapters deploy regularly for tornadoes, flooding, and winter storms. Volunteer entry points include shelter operations, disaster assessment, and feeding.
Iowa has over 30 amateur radio clubs in the ARRL Iowa Section, part of the Midwest Division. ARES teams are activated during severe weather, river flooding, and extended power outages. During the 2020 derecho, ham operators across central Iowa provided emergency communications for shelters and emergency management when the power grid and cell networks went down simultaneously.
Getting licensed costs $15 for the exam and about $35 for a basic handheld radio. Study at hamstudy.org, then find a local exam session. Clubs in Des Moines, Cedar Rapids, Iowa City, Davenport, Sioux City, Waterloo, and Ames host exams regularly.
Multiple NWS offices serve Iowa: Des Moines (central IA), Quad Cities (eastern IA), Sioux Falls SD (northwest IA), Omaha (southwest IA), and La Crosse WI (northeast IA). Each runs SKYWARN spotter training, typically before severe weather season in spring.
Iowa averages about 50 tornadoes per year, with some years producing significantly more. The state also faces derechos (the 2020 event was unprecedented), severe hail, flash flooding, Mississippi and Missouri River flooding, blizzards with wind chills to minus 40, and ice storms. Iowa's flat terrain allows severe weather to accelerate across vast distances. Trained spotters provide critical real-time reports. Training is free.
Iowa has over 500 public library locations overseen by the State Library of Iowa. Iowa consistently ranks among the top states in library usage per capita. Des Moines Public Library, Cedar Rapids Public Library, Iowa City Public Library, and Davenport Public Library run extensive community programming. Iowa's small-town libraries are essential community infrastructure.
Iowa has 15 community colleges serving every region of the state. Institutions like Des Moines Area Community College (DMACC), Kirkwood Community College (Cedar Rapids), and Iowa Western Community College offer affordable continuing education in EMT certification, fire science, welding, electrical work, agriculture technology, and other practical trades.
Why this matters
On August 10, 2020, a derecho — a massive line of straight-line thunderstorm winds — swept across Iowa from west to east in about 45 minutes. Winds exceeded 140 mph in some areas. The Cedar Rapids metro took a direct hit. Across central and eastern Iowa, over 10 million acres of corn and soybeans were flattened. Grain bins were crumpled. Power lines were snapped for miles. Over a million Iowans lost power, some for weeks. Damage exceeded $11 billion, making it one of the costliest thunderstorm events in American history.
Most Americans never heard about it. But in Iowa, the response was immediate and community-driven. Farmers helped neighbors clear debris from roads and fields. Volunteer fire departments ran chainsaw operations across entire counties. Ham radio operators provided communications for emergency management when cell networks collapsed. CERT teams assisted with shelter operations and damage assessment. Churches and grain elevators became supply distribution points.
ISU Extension agents were on the ground within days, helping farmers assess crop damage and navigate USDA disaster programs. Red Cross opened shelters across the hardest-hit areas. Mutual aid from neighboring states flowed through organized distribution networks that sprung up at county fairgrounds.
The 2020 derecho proved that Iowa's greatest vulnerability — the vast, flat agricultural landscape that lets wind accelerate for hundreds of miles — is also the source of its greatest strength: communities that know how to take care of each other. The organizations on this page build that capacity every day.
The foundation
Community resilience begins with a household that can take care of itself. Cover the first 72 hours, then extend outward to your street, your neighborhood, your town.
Start with the first 72 hours