145
Recorded events
0
Direct deaths
5
Direct injuries
$160K
Property damage
Hail in Mills County, Iowa: 145 recorded events between 1957 and 2026. The strongest on record measured 3. That places the county #963 nationally and #43 statewide for this hazard.
Decade by decade
Hail in Mills County, Iowa: events per decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
The busiest decade for hail in Mills County is the 2000s, when 56 of the county's 145 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 Mills County archive, hail makes up 44.1% of all recorded severe weather across 8 hazard types. Nationally the county sits at #963 for this hazard and #43 within Iowa, putting it in the 69.1 percentile of all U.S. counties.
Seasonality
Events by month
Apr is the peak month for hail in Mills County with 35 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 18, 2011 | MINEOLA | 3 | 0 | 5 | $0 |
Most recent
Latest recorded events
| Date | Location | Magnitude | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mar 6, 2026 | EMERSON | 1 | $0 |
| Oct 6, 2025 | MALVERN | 0.75 | $0 |
| Apr 18, 2025 | PACIFIC JCT | 1 | $0 |
| Apr 30, 2024 | MALVERN | 2.25 | $0 |
| Apr 30, 2024 | GLENWOOD | 1.75 | $0 |
| Apr 30, 2024 | MALVERN | 1 | $0 |
| Jul 17, 2023 | MALVERN | 1.25 | $0 |
| Jul 17, 2023 | MALVERN | 1 | $0 |
| Jul 17, 2023 | MALVERN | 1.5 | $0 |
| May 8, 2023 | MALVERN | 1.75 | $0 |
Other hazards here
More from Mills County
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
Thunderstorms erupted over western Iowa during the evening hours. The weak cold front that passed southeast across the state the previous day had stalled out just to the south of Iowa. Advection of warm unstable air over the frontal surface resulted in the development of thunderstorms. The storms were not severe in most instances. One of them did produce a brief period of hail three-quarter inch in diameter north of Glenwood in Mills County. For the most part, hail was only pea-size from most of the storms.
Spotters and storm chasers reported hail ranging from nickel size to baseball size associated with a left-moving supercell tracking north northeast. The hail reportedly broke the vehicle windshield of the spotter northwest of Glenwood.
Hail, some as large as around softball-size, was accompanied by thunderstorm winds estimated at 60 mph or stronger. The hail and strong winds caused considerable home and vehicle damage in the Mineola area, especially on the east side of the structures. It was reported that almost every home in town lost at least one window. Bicyclists on a weekly jaunt on a local trail were hit by the wind and hail with several sustaining minor injuries due to the wind driven hail.
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many hail events are on record in Mills County, Iowa?
145 hail events are recorded in Mills County between 1957 and 2026, causing 0 direct deaths.
What is the strongest hail recorded in Mills County?
The strongest hail on record in Mills County measured 3.
Where does the hail data for Mills 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 Mills County, Iowa.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/iowa/mills-county/hail/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.