162
Recorded events
0
Direct deaths
0
Direct injuries
$760K
Property damage
Hail in Cherokee County, Iowa: 162 recorded events between 1959 and 2025. The strongest on record measured 4. That places the county #845 nationally and #33 statewide for this hazard.
Decade by decade
Hail in Cherokee County, Iowa: events per decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
The busiest decade for hail in Cherokee County is the 2000s, when 77 of the county's 162 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 Cherokee County archive, hail makes up 42.5% of all recorded severe weather across 8 hazard types. Nationally the county sits at #845 for this hazard and #33 within Iowa, putting it in the 72.8 percentile of all U.S. counties.
Seasonality
Events by month
May is the peak month for hail in Cherokee County with 49 recorded events, while Jan 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.
Most recent
Latest recorded events
| Date | Location | Magnitude | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 9, 2025 | CHEROKEE | 2 | $0 |
| Jun 14, 2025 | FIELDING | 0.88 | $0 |
| Apr 29, 2025 | CHEROKEE | 1 | $0 |
| Apr 18, 2025 | AURELIA | 1 | $0 |
| Apr 18, 2025 | MERIDEN | 1.75 | $0 |
| Apr 18, 2025 | CHEROKEE | 1 | $0 |
| May 21, 2024 | AURELIA | 1.5 | $0 |
| May 21, 2024 | LARRABEE | 1.25 | $0 |
| May 8, 2024 | MARCUS | 1 | $0 |
| Apr 26, 2024 | CLEGHORN | 1 | $0 |
Other hazards here
More from Cherokee County
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
A cold front moved southeast out of the Dakotas into Iowa during the late afternoon and evening hours. Parameters for severe weather were weak. The instability was there, but moisture, inflow, and shear were marginal. A mesoscale convective system developed over Minnesota during the afternoon hours. As the evening progressed, the storms developed toward the southwest. Eventually the complex overspread about the northeast two thirds of Iowa. Some severe weather was reported with the storms, but it was limited. Dime-size hail fell in the northwest counties of the state. In O'Brien County, golf ball-size hail fell at Sheldon. Some roof damage was reported there. Hail damage to property was minor, however many crops were damaged. Gusty winds were common with the storms, but there were few wind gusts reaching severe criteria. Minor damage was reported in Spencer as winds clocked at 60 mph blew through the city.
A continuation of the wind-driven hail path from Plymouth County, extensive to total crop damage was noted across the southwest corner of Cherokee County. The path was determined from Sentinel satellite data and ground survey. Crop damage is an estimate from insured losses. Information provided by the United States Department of Agriculture.
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many hail events are on record in Cherokee County, Iowa?
162 hail events are recorded in Cherokee County between 1959 and 2025, causing 0 direct deaths.
What is the strongest hail recorded in Cherokee County?
The strongest hail on record in Cherokee County measured 4.
Where does the hail data for Cherokee 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.
Cite this page
“Hail in Cherokee County, Iowa.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/iowa/cherokee-county/hail/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.