97
Recorded events
0
Direct deaths
0
Direct injuries
$516K
Property damage
Hail in Howard County, Iowa: 97 recorded events between 1955 and 2026. The strongest on record measured 3.5. That places the county #1,466 nationally and #84 statewide for this hazard.
Decade by decade
Hail in Howard County, Iowa: events per decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
The busiest decade for hail in Howard County is the 2000s, when 45 of the county's 97 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 Howard County archive, hail makes up 31.4% of all recorded severe weather across 8 hazard types. Nationally the county sits at #1,466 for this hazard and #84 within Iowa, putting it in the 52.8 percentile of all U.S. counties.
Seasonality
Events by month
Jun is the peak month for hail in Howard County with 29 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 27, 2026 | LOURDES | 1 | $0 |
| Apr 14, 2026 | SARATOGA | 2.75 | $75K |
| Apr 14, 2026 | ELMA | 3.5 | $250K |
| Sep 19, 2024 | RICEVILLE | 1 | $0 |
| Sep 19, 2024 | RICEVILLE | 0.88 | $0 |
| Jun 26, 2020 | LIME SPGS | 1 | $0 |
| Jun 27, 2019 | SCHLEY | 0.75 | $0 |
| Jun 27, 2019 | ELMA | 0.88 | $0 |
| Jun 27, 2019 | MAPLE LEAF | 1 | $0 |
| Apr 14, 2018 | CRESCO MUNI ARPT | 1 | $0 |
Other hazards here
More from Howard County
- Thunderstorm Wind 111
- Tornado 44
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
Thunderstorms once again erupted in the warm and unstable air over Iowa. Inflow feed to the storms was weak and most were not able to become very strong. One cell became severe over Howard County and dropped golf ball-size hail on the town of Chester.
Two frontal systems were moving southeast across the central United States. The first cold front was Pacific in origin and was quite weak. A much stronger cold front dropped southeast from Canada and entered Iowa during the afternoon. The air mass was capped in the mid levels. CAPE values were in the 2000-3000 J-kg-1 range ahead of the Canadian cold front. Surface dew point temperatures in the lower 70s F. Strong thunderstorms developed over north central Iowa and moved into the northeast counties. The produced brief heavy rainfall and gusty winds for the most part. A few storms produced hail during the early evening hours as colder air moved in aloft. Three-quarter-inch diameter hail fell in several locations over northeast Iowa. Golf ball-size hail fell in a few locations. Both Applington, in Butler County, and New Haven, in Mitchell County, reported golf ball-size hail.
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many hail events are on record in Howard County, Iowa?
97 hail events are recorded in Howard County between 1955 and 2026, causing 0 direct deaths.
What is the strongest hail recorded in Howard County?
The strongest hail on record in Howard County measured 3.5.
Where does the hail data for Howard 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 Howard County, Iowa.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/iowa/howard-county/hail/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.