Hail reports Iowa
No hail has been reported anywhere in Iowa during the last 24 hours. In an average year, Iowa sees 434 hail reports, and the largest hailstone on record measured 5.50 inches. That stone fell at Slater on May 22, 2004. The average is based on reports from 2005 through 2025, and the record goes back to 1996. Hail report data comes from National Weather Service Local Storm Reports filed by trained spotters.
as of
NCEI Storm Events data place Iowa at 9 among 51 states and DC for average hail reports per year. Full state hail ranking
From 2005 through 2025, the Storm Events Database logs about 434 hail reports in Iowa a year, across about 43 days.
Largest hailstones on record in Iowa
| Diameter | Size | Place | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5.50 inches | Grapefruit | Slater, Story County | May 22, 2004 |
| 5.50 inches | Grapefruit | Kanawha, Hancock County | Aug 26, 2004 |
| 5.00 inches | Grapefruit | Gilbert, Story County | May 30, 1998 |
| 4.75 inches | Grapefruit | Oskaloosa, Mahaska County | May 8, 2003 |
| 4.50 inches | Grapefruit | Charles City, Floyd County | May 17, 1996 |
| 4.50 inches | Grapefruit | Cushing, Woodbury County | Jun 19, 1996 |
| 4.50 inches | Grapefruit | Hopkinton, Delaware County | May 18, 1997 |
| 4.50 inches | Grapefruit | Hopkinton, Delaware County | Jun 18, 1998 |
| 4.50 inches | Grapefruit | Casey, Guthrie County | Jul 2, 1999 |
| 4.50 inches | Grapefruit | Allison, Butler County | Jun 1, 2001 |
Record figures come from the Storm Events Database at NCEI, a reviewed log that trails live reports by 2 to 3 months. Records start in 1996 and averages cover 2005-2025.
Hail reports by month
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Reports | 0.4 | 3 | 31 | 85 | 79 | 117 | 53 | 32 | 24 | 6 | 2 | 0.5 |
Counties in Iowa with the most hail reports
| County | Reports a year |
|---|---|
| Polk | 20.2 |
| Linn | 13.3 |
| Warren | 10.1 |
| Story | 10.0 |
| Woodbury | 9.3 |
| Benton | 8.9 |
| Scott | 8.3 |
| Black Hawk | 7.7 |
| Johnson | 7.6 |
| Dallas | 7.3 |
Cities in Iowa with hail data
| City | Reports a year | Largest since 1996 |
|---|---|---|
| Des Moines | 37.5 | 4.00 inches Jul 3, 2001 |
| Cedar Rapids | 27.8 | 2.75 inches May 18, 1997 |
Recent days with reports in Iowa
National Weather Service offices file Local Storm Reports; the Iowa Environmental Mesonet of Iowa State University relays them to this page, where they appear as live spotter reports. Under 17 U.S.C. 105, no copyright attaches to the government-produced figures on this page, including reports, alerts, station observations, and normals, which were created by the National Weather Service and other NOAA offices. The notice that 17 U.S.C. 403 requires appears in this sentence. It does not imply endorsement by or affiliation with those agencies. See: Data sources and attribution.