Hail in Story County, Iowa

Hail in Story County, Iowa: 325 recorded events between 1968 and 2025. The strongest on record measured 5.5. That places the county #262 nationally and #5 statewide for this hazard.

Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.

The busiest decade for hail in Story County is the 2000s, when 98 of the county's 325 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 Story County archive, hail makes up 29.5% of all recorded severe weather across 8 hazard types. Nationally the county sits at #262 for this hazard and #5 within Iowa, putting it in the 91.7 percentile of all U.S. counties.

May is the peak month for hail in Story County with 103 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.

• Thunderstorm Wind 390
• Heavy Rain 174
• Tornado 64
• Flash Flood 64
• Flood 53

How many hail events are on record in Story County, Iowa?

325 hail events are recorded in Story County between 1968 and 2025, causing 0 direct deaths.

What is the strongest hail recorded in Story County?

The strongest hail on record in Story County measured 5.5.

Where does the hail data for Story 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.