152
Recorded events
0
Direct deaths
0
Direct injuries
$633K
Property damage
Hail in Madison County, Iowa: 152 recorded events between 1960 and 2025. The strongest on record measured 4. That places the county #910 nationally and #37 statewide for this hazard.
Decade by decade
Hail in Madison County, Iowa: events per decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
The busiest decade for hail in Madison County is the 2000s, when 75 of the county's 152 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 Madison County archive, hail makes up 37.8% of all recorded severe weather across 8 hazard types. Nationally the county sits at #910 for this hazard and #37 within Iowa, putting it in the 70.6 percentile of all U.S. counties.
Seasonality
Events by month
Jun is the peak month for hail in Madison County with 50 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mar 14, 2025 | PATTERSON | 0.75 | $0 |
| Jun 26, 2024 | WINTERSET | 1.5 | $0 |
| Jun 26, 2024 | WINTERSET | 1.75 | $0 |
| Jun 26, 2024 | WINTERSET | 1.5 | $0 |
| Jun 26, 2024 | PITZER | 2.5 | $0 |
| Jun 26, 2024 | WINTERSET ARPT | 2.75 | $0 |
| Jun 26, 2024 | WINTERSET ARPT | 0.75 | $0 |
| May 21, 2024 | WINTERSET | 1 | $0 |
| May 19, 2024 | WINTERSET | 1 | $0 |
| Apr 30, 2024 | TRURO | 1 | $0 |
Other hazards here
More from Madison County
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
A strong southerly flow of moist and unstable air moved over Iowa during the afternoon of the 29th. Thunderstorms erupted during the late afternoon and early evening hours. There were numerous reports of gusty winds and pea- to marble-size hail with the storms as the overspread the west half of Iowa. A few of the storms became severe over south central into central Iowa. Three-quarter-inch diameter hail fell from the storms as the approached the Des Moines metropolitan area in Madison County. Three-quarter-inch diameter hail also fell in Guthrie County. Lightning from the storms resulted in numerous brief power outages. Some power outages were reported due tree limbs being downed by gusty winds.
A strong southerly flow of moist and unstable air moved over Iowa during the afternoon of the 29th. Thunderstorms erupted during the late afternoon and early evening hours. There were numerous reports of gusty winds and pea- to marble-size hail with the storms as the overspread the west half of Iowa. A few of the storms became severe over south central into central Iowa. Three-quarter-inch diameter hail fell from the storms as the approached the Des Moines metropolitan area in Madison County. Three-quarter-inch diameter hail also fell in Guthrie County. Lightning from the storms resulted in numerous brief power outages. Some power outages were reported due tree limbs being downed by gusty winds.
A small cluster of intense thunderstorms moved south across Iowa during the evening hours. The storms formed along several outflow boundaries left across the state from the previous nights convection. The storms remained below severe levels for the most part. One storm produced three-quarters inch diameter hail as it moved through the Winterset area. This storm was the strongest of the storms and was somewhat separated from the others.
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many hail events are on record in Madison County, Iowa?
152 hail events are recorded in Madison County between 1960 and 2025, causing 0 direct deaths.
What is the strongest hail recorded in Madison County?
The strongest hail on record in Madison County measured 4.
Where does the hail data for Madison 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 Madison County, Iowa.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/iowa/madison-county/hail/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.