Adams County, IA hail & severe wind history
86 storm reports on file for Adams County between 2010-06-01 and 2025-04-17 — 58 hail and 28 severe thunderstorm wind. That averages 5.4 reports a year, and Apr is the busiest month.
At a glance
- Most recent hail report: Apr 17, 2025 — 1" (quarter), 0.87 mi NE of Brooks.
- Hail was reported on 23 days since 2010 — about 1.4 hail days a year.
- Largest hail on record: 3" (teacup) on May 19, 2013.
- Adams County has more hail reports than 46% of the 99 Iowa counties we cover.
Search every Adams County report
Check a single date first, or filter the full record below — pick a year, narrow to a month, or drag the hail-size slider to see only the larger stones (1", quarter size, is the National Weather Service severe threshold).
Loading Adams County storm reports…
Worst storm days in Adams County
| Date | Reports that day | Largest hail | Peak gust |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2010-06-01 | 7 | 2" (hen egg) | 70 mph |
| 2014-06-03 | 6 | 1.75" (golf ball) | 75 mph |
| 2011-05-11 | 5 | 2" (hen egg) | — |
| 2012-04-14 | 5 | 1" (quarter) | 75 mph |
| 2019-06-25 | 4 | 1.75" (golf ball) | — |
| 2014-04-12 | 4 | 1.75" (golf ball) | 60 mph |
| 2013-08-07 | 4 | 1.5" (ping pong ball) | 70 mph |
| 2012-05-04 | 4 | 1.25" (half dollar) | — |
| 2013-05-19 | 3 | 3" (teacup) | — |
| 2014-09-09 | 3 | 2" (hen egg) | 70 mph |
Reports by year
Report counts are driven partly by how many people were around to report a storm, so recent years tend to look busier than the early 2010s. Treat the trend as a reporting trend, not purely a weather trend.
Notable large-hail events (2" and up)
| Date | Size | Near | What was reported |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2014-09-09 | 2" hen egg | 3.42 mi ENE of Iveyville | No narrative filed |
| 2013-05-19 | 2.5" tennis ball | 2.5 mi WSW of Carbon | Hail completely covered the ground. |
| 2013-05-19 | 3" teacup | 1.38 mi N of Carbon | Two to three inch hail received via social media. |
| 2011-05-11 | 2" hen egg | 1.04 mi W of Brooks | No narrative filed |
| 2010-06-01 | 2" hen egg | 3.65 mi W of Mercer | No narrative filed |
When does hail hit Adams County?
Across 16 years of records, April produced the most reports (22), followed by the months either side of it. Monthly totals:
| Month | Reports | Share |
|---|---|---|
| January | 0 | 0.0% |
| February | 0 | 0.0% |
| March | 5 | 5.8% |
| April | 22 | 25.6% |
| May | 14 | 16.3% |
| June | 22 | 25.6% |
| July | 5 | 5.8% |
| August | 6 | 7.0% |
| September | 11 | 12.8% |
| October | 0 | 0.0% |
| November | 1 | 1.2% |
| December | 0 | 0.0% |
Neighboring counties
Counties that share a border with Adams County (U.S. Census county adjacency), where we have storm records:
| County | Storm reports | Largest hail |
|---|---|---|
| Adair County, IA | 139 | 4" |
| Taylor County, IA | 128 | 2.75" |
| Page County, IA | 123 | 3.5" |
| Montgomery County, IA | 119 | 3" |
| Cass County, IA | 117 | 3" |
| Union County, IA | 113 | 3" |
| Ringgold County, IA | 63 | 3" |
Common questions about hail in Adams County
- How often does it hail in Adams County?
- Hail was reported on 23 separate days between 2010 and 2025, about 1.4 days a year, with April the busiest month for storm reports. 49 reports were quarter size (1") or larger.
- Does a report here mean hail hit my street?
- Not necessarily. Each report is one observation tied to a nearby landmark, and a county can be large. Storms also go unreported where few people live. Use the date check above to see what was reported nearby, and treat it as a starting point.
- How big is a 1.75" hailstone?
- Forecasters describe hail by everyday objects: 1" is a quarter, 1.75" a golf ball, 2.75" a baseball. The sizes in these reports are estimates made by the person reporting, not lab measurements.
- Where do I get the official record?
- All reports here come from the NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, which you can search directly. For anything formal, use NOAA’s own records rather than this page.
Look up another place
About these numbers
Every row above is a report filed with the National Weather Service and archived in the NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database (FIPS 19003). Reports are eyewitness, trained-spotter and damage-survey observations, so they cluster near roads and towns and miss storms over empty country. Hail sizes are estimates. Damage figures are preliminary as filed and are never revised in this archive. Use this page for background, not for an insurance claim, a legal filing, or a roof assessment — for those, get the official record from NOAA directly.