133
Recorded events
0
Direct deaths
0
Direct injuries
$40K
Property damage
Hail in Shelby County, Iowa: 133 recorded events between 1967 and 2026. The strongest on record measured 3. That places the county #1,068 nationally and #54 statewide for this hazard.
Decade by decade
Hail in Shelby County, Iowa: events per decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
The busiest decade for hail in Shelby County is the 2000s, when 54 of the county's 133 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 Shelby County archive, hail makes up 43.9% of all recorded severe weather across 6 hazard types. Nationally the county sits at #1,068 for this hazard and #54 within Iowa, putting it in the 65.6 percentile of all U.S. counties.
Seasonality
Events by month
Jun is the peak month for hail in Shelby County with 34 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 23, 2026 | WESTPHALIA | 1 | $0 |
| Jun 26, 2024 | HARLAN | 1.75 | $0 |
| Jun 26, 2024 | SHELBY | 1 | $0 |
| May 21, 2024 | HARLAN | 2 | $0 |
| May 21, 2024 | HARLAN | 1 | $0 |
| May 18, 2022 | PANAMA | 1 | $0 |
| May 18, 2022 | HARLAN | 1 | $0 |
| Apr 23, 2022 | ELK HORN | 1.75 | $0 |
| Sep 25, 2019 | PANAMA | 1 | $0 |
| Sep 25, 2019 | PANAMA | 1 | $0 |
Other hazards here
More from Shelby County
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
Numerous reports of large hail were received in and just to the south of the city of Harlan. The hail ranged from around quarter size to 3 inches in diameter. The hail was responsible for damage to windows, cars and roofs in and around town.
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many hail events are on record in Shelby County, Iowa?
133 hail events are recorded in Shelby County between 1967 and 2026, causing 0 direct deaths.
What is the strongest hail recorded in Shelby County?
The strongest hail on record in Shelby County measured 3.
Where does the hail data for Shelby 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 Shelby County, Iowa.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/iowa/shelby-county/hail/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.