On May 15, 1968, an extremely powerful and violent multi-vortex tornado hit the communities of Hansell, Hampton, Charles City, Elma and Aredale, all located in the state of Iowa.

[2] The tornado began to rapidly intensify as it hit Kirkwood Road, and crossed 280th Street before beginning to run almost diagonally to Marble Rock.

[2] As the tornado tracked passed areas west of Marble Rock, a funnel cloud as briefly seen before lifting.

[1] Another tornado then touched down east of Marble Rock, and would stay on the ground until around 4 miles southwest of Charles City.

Heavy damage was documented and observed in northern Charles City, and intense ground scouring occurred, suggesting wind speeds of 200–300 mph (320–480 km/h).

[5] The tornado then started to track through sparsely populated areas of rural northern Iowa, damaging farms but killing nobody.

The tornado tracked west of Alta Vista before hitting eastern Elma, heaving damaging many buildings in its path.

The tornado also moved in-between Saratoga and Davis Corners, crossing State Highway 9, before turning slightly northward directly west of Lime Springs.

[1][9] The damage costs totaled an estimated $30 million, most of which was centered in Charles City but also spread out across its entire path.