229
Recorded events
0
Direct deaths
1
Direct injuries
$40.5M
Property damage
Hail in Johnson County, Iowa: 229 recorded events between 1968 and 2026. The strongest on record measured 2.75. That places the county #505 nationally and #14 statewide for this hazard.
Decade by decade
Hail in Johnson County, Iowa: events per decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
The busiest decade for hail in Johnson County is the 2010s, when 74 of the county's 229 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 Johnson County archive, hail makes up 35.1% of all recorded severe weather across 9 hazard types. Nationally the county sits at #505 for this hazard and #14 within Iowa, putting it in the 83.8 percentile of all U.S. counties.
Seasonality
Events by month
Apr is the peak month for hail in Johnson County with 52 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.
Significant events
Deadliest on record
| Date | Location | Scale | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 7, 1994 | Swisher | 1.5 | 0 | 1 | $5K |
Most recent
Latest recorded events
| Date | Location | Magnitude | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 14, 2026 | IOWA CITY | 1 | $0 |
| Apr 14, 2026 | IOWA CITY | 1.25 | $0 |
| Apr 14, 2026 | IOWA CITY | 1 | $0 |
| Apr 14, 2026 | IOWA CITY | 1.25 | $0 |
| Apr 14, 2026 | IOWA CITY | 1.5 | $0 |
| Apr 2, 2026 | IOWA CITY MUNI ARPT | 1.75 | $0 |
| Mar 31, 2026 | UNIVERSITY HGTS | 0.88 | $0 |
| Mar 15, 2026 | OASIS | 0.88 | $0 |
| Mar 15, 2026 | HILLS | 1.5 | $0 |
| Mar 10, 2026 | OASIS | 2.75 | $0 |
Other hazards here
More from Johnson County
- Thunderstorm Wind 274
- Flash Flood 49
- Tornado 46
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
A 15 minute "rain" of baseball sized hail caused $30 to $50 million dollars of damage. One insurance agent said "this was the worst storm since 1967." He went on to say; "everyone he insures who has a skylight now has a broken skylight." This included the skylights over the swimming pool in the downtown Iowa City Holliday Inn. The average home claim was $3500 and the average car claim was $2500. The hail caused widespread damage to individuals cars and between 300 and 500 thousand dollars worth of damage to each of four car dealerships interviewed.
Hail of 1.00 to 1.50 inches in diameter with some golfball sized hail occurred with thunderstorm number 3 in Iowa City, and 2 miles west, 1 mile south, and 1 mile east of Iowa City. Hail covered the ground in the southeast part of the city with numerous cars receiving dents.
Baseball size hail falling for more than 15 minutes caused widespread damage to homes and vehicles across the Iowa City area. Numerous windshields were broken and vehicles dented. Several reports of hail breaking through fiberglass awnings and lightweight shelters were also received.
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many hail events are on record in Johnson County, Iowa?
229 hail events are recorded in Johnson County between 1968 and 2026, causing 0 direct deaths.
What is the strongest hail recorded in Johnson County?
The strongest hail on record in Johnson County measured 2.75.
Where does the hail data for Johnson 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 Johnson County, Iowa.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/iowa/johnson-county/hail/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.