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Black Hawk County, IA hail & severe wind history
210 storm reports on file for Black Hawk County between 2010-04-02 and 2025-09-16 — 105 hail and 105 severe thunderstorm wind. That averages 13.1 reports a year, and Jun is the busiest month.
At a glance
- Most recent hail report: Sep 16, 2025 — 0.88" (nickel), 2.07 mi S of Waterloo. Last quarter-size (1") or larger: Sep 16, 2025, 1".
- Hail was reported on 32 days since 2010 — about 2.0 hail days a year.
- Largest hail on record: 3.5" (teacup) on Apr 6, 2010.
- Black Hawk County has more hail reports than 90% of the 99 Iowa counties we cover.
Search every Black Hawk 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 Black Hawk County storm reports…
Worst storm days in Black Hawk County
| Date | Reports that day | Largest hail | Peak gust |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2010-04-06 | 17 | 3.5" (teacup) | — |
| 2017-06-15 | 17 | 2.5" (tennis ball) | — |
| 2013-04-29 | 11 | 2" (hen egg) | — |
| 2025-06-11 | 9 | — | 69 mph |
| 2023-06-24 | 8 | 3" (teacup) | 64 mph |
| 2017-05-17 | 7 | 1" (quarter) | 70 mph |
| 2013-05-29 | 7 | 1" (quarter) | 64 mph |
| 2025-09-16 | 6 | 1.25" (half dollar) | 58 mph |
| 2019-09-09 | 6 | — | 62 mph |
| 2011-09-02 | 6 | — | 69 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2023-06-24 | 3" teacup | 1.72 mi SW of Evansdale | Trained spotter reported baseball and larger hail. |
| 2023-06-24 | 2.75" baseball | 2.31 mi SSW of Waterloo | KWWL relayed viewer report of baseball sized hail. |
| 2017-06-15 | 2.5" tennis ball | .69 mi S of Waterloo | Broadcast media reported tennis ball sized hail. Came from KWWL TV meteorologist. Time estimated from radar. |
| 2017-04-15 | 2.75" baseball | 3.83 mi WSW of La Porte City Arpt | Media relayed reports of broken windshields from nearly baseball sized hail. Time estimated from radar. |
| 2013-04-29 | 2" hen egg | 2.13 mi NNW of Waterloo | No narrative filed |
| 2010-04-06 | 2" hen egg | .86 mi SW of Cedar Falls | No narrative filed |
| 2010-04-06 | 2" hen egg | 0 mi N of Cedar Falls | No narrative filed |
| 2010-04-06 | 2.5" tennis ball | 0 mi N of Cedar Falls | No narrative filed |
When does hail hit Black Hawk County?
Across 16 years of records, June produced the most reports (62), followed by the months either side of it. Monthly totals:
| Month | Reports | Share |
|---|---|---|
| January | 0 | 0.0% |
| February | 0 | 0.0% |
| March | 6 | 2.9% |
| April | 41 | 19.5% |
| May | 32 | 15.2% |
| June | 62 | 29.5% |
| July | 25 | 11.9% |
| August | 10 | 4.8% |
| September | 24 | 11.4% |
| October | 4 | 1.9% |
| November | 2 | 1.0% |
| December | 4 | 1.9% |
Neighboring counties
Counties that share a border with Black Hawk County (U.S. Census county adjacency), where we have storm records:
| County | Storm reports | Largest hail |
|---|---|---|
| Benton County, IA | 265 | 2" |
| Buchanan County, IA | 226 | 3.25" |
| Butler County, IA | 148 | 2.5" |
| Bremer County, IA | 126 | 2.75" |
| Fayette County, IA | 108 | 2" |
| Tama County, IA | 96 | 2" |
| Grundy County, IA | 70 | 1.75" |
Common questions about hail in Black Hawk County
- How often does it hail in Black Hawk County?
- Hail was reported on 32 separate days between 2010 and 2025, about 2.0 days a year, with June the busiest month for storm reports. 83 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 19013). 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.