Hail in Benton County, Iowa

Hail in Benton County, Iowa: 275 recorded events between 1963 and 2026. The strongest on record measured 4. That places the county #369 nationally and #7 statewide for this hazard.

Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.

The busiest decade for hail in Benton County is the 2000s, when 106 of the county's 275 recorded events were logged. Comparing decades is useful for spotting active periods, but the earliest years are thin because systematic reporting for this hazard began later.

Within the Benton County archive, hail makes up 36.6% of all recorded severe weather across 8 hazard types. Nationally the county sits at #369 for this hazard and #7 within Iowa, putting it in the 88.2 percentile of all U.S. counties.

Jun is the peak month for hail in Benton County with 76 recorded events, while Nov is the quietest. Seasonality here is a property of the archive as much as the climate: reports cluster where population and spotter networks are densest.

• Thunderstorm Wind 361
• Tornado 46

How many hail events are on record in Benton County, Iowa?

275 hail events are recorded in Benton County between 1963 and 2026, causing 0 direct deaths.

What is the strongest hail recorded in Benton County?

The strongest hail on record in Benton County measured 4.

Where does the hail data for Benton County come from?

All events come from the NOAA/NCEI Storm Events Database, the federal public-domain archive of severe weather reports. Dates are UTC, damage is as reported and not inflation-adjusted, and the most recent entries may still be revised.