Clarke County, IA hail & severe wind history
127 storm reports on file for Clarke County between 2010-04-05 and 2025-09-17 — 79 hail and 48 severe thunderstorm wind. That averages 7.9 reports a year, and Apr is the busiest month.
At a glance
- Most recent hail report: May 19, 2025 — 0.75" (penny), 1.25 mi WSW of Osceola. Last quarter-size (1") or larger: May 19, 2025, 1.75".
- Hail was reported on 38 days since 2010 — about 2.4 hail days a year.
- Largest hail on record: 3.5" (teacup) on Apr 4, 2023.
- Clarke County has more hail reports than 74% of the 99 Iowa counties we cover.
Search every Clarke 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 Clarke County storm reports…
Worst storm days in Clarke County
| Date | Reports that day | Largest hail | Peak gust |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2023-04-04 | 12 | 3.5" (teacup) | 52 mph |
| 2012-04-14 | 9 | 2.75" (baseball) | 60 mph |
| 2019-06-25 | 8 | 2" (hen egg) | — |
| 2023-03-31 | 4 | 1.75" (golf ball) | 56 mph |
| 2014-05-11 | 4 | 1" (quarter) | 70 mph |
| 2015-05-17 | 4 | — | 86 mph |
| 2011-08-06 | 4 | — | 75 mph |
| 2010-06-22 | 4 | — | 66 mph |
| 2025-05-19 | 3 | 2" (hen egg) | — |
| 2018-06-10 | 3 | 1.75" (golf ball) | 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025-05-19 | 2" hen egg | .52 mi E of Osceola | Report relayed by broadcast media. Delayed report, time estimated by radar. |
| 2023-04-04 | 2" hen egg | 0 mi N of Osceola | Report via social media. |
| 2023-04-04 | 2.75" baseball | .52 mi W of Osceola Muni Arpt | Report via social media, time estimated by radar. |
| 2023-04-04 | 2.75" baseball | .87 mi NW of Osceola | Report from mping, time estimated. |
| 2023-04-04 | 3.5" teacup | .52 mi E of Osceola Muni Arpt | Delayed report from mping, time estimated by radar. |
| 2023-04-04 | 2.75" baseball | 1.48 mi SSE of Osceola Muni Arpt | Time estimated by radar. |
| 2023-04-04 | 3" teacup | 4.03 mi NNW of Osceola Muni Arpt | Broken windows, corrugated metal outbuildings severely dented, vehicles parked outside severely dented, newly established trees damaged. |
| 2023-04-04 | 2" hen egg | 1.73 mi SE of Liberty | Two inch hail reported on New Liberty Highway. Time estimated by radar. |
When does hail hit Clarke County?
Across 16 years of records, April produced the most reports (37), followed by the months either side of it. Monthly totals:
| Month | Reports | Share |
|---|---|---|
| January | 0 | 0.0% |
| February | 0 | 0.0% |
| March | 10 | 7.9% |
| April | 37 | 29.1% |
| May | 25 | 19.7% |
| June | 35 | 27.6% |
| July | 6 | 4.7% |
| August | 7 | 5.5% |
| September | 2 | 1.6% |
| October | 3 | 2.4% |
| November | 0 | 0.0% |
| December | 2 | 1.6% |
Neighboring counties
Counties that share a border with Clarke County (U.S. Census county adjacency), where we have storm records:
| County | Storm reports | Largest hail |
|---|---|---|
| Warren County, IA | 255 | 3.5" |
| Madison County, IA | 114 | 2.75" |
| Union County, IA | 113 | 3" |
| Decatur County, IA | 70 | 2.5" |
| Ringgold County, IA | 63 | 3" |
| Lucas County, IA | 62 | 2" |
| Wayne County, IA | 53 | 2.75" |
Common questions about hail in Clarke County
- How often does it hail in Clarke County?
- Hail was reported on 38 separate days between 2010 and 2025, about 2.4 days a year, with April the busiest month for storm reports. 65 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 19039). 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.