A tornado destroyed about 75 percent of the southwest Iowa town of Thurman in mid-April, the same day a tornado smashed into Creston, doing major damage to a hospital. But State Climatologist Harry Hillaker says other than that outbreak of severe weather, it's been "fairly quiet" in terms of tornado activity in Iowa this year.



Forecasters recently divided the country into 100-square-mile increments and mapped out tornado touch downs. The research found that in the past 20 years, Iowa has had more tornadoes touch down than all but two states. Recent forecasts indicate a period of calm weather ahead for Iowa.



According to the National Weather Service there were 50 tornadoes in Iowa last year. Twenty tornadoes were reported in Iowa on one day -- April 9, 2011.