Decatur County, IA hail & severe wind history
70 storm reports on file for Decatur County between 2010-04-02 and 2025-09-17 — 29 hail and 41 severe thunderstorm wind. That averages 4.4 reports a year, and Jun is the busiest month.
At a glance
- Most recent hail report: May 19, 2025 — 2" (hen egg), 0.52 mi W of Grand River.
- Hail was reported on 20 days since 2010 — about 1.3 hail days a year.
- Largest hail on record: 2.5" (tennis ball) on Jun 3, 2014.
- Decatur County has more hail reports than 11% of the 99 Iowa counties we cover.
Search every Decatur 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 Decatur County storm reports…
Worst storm days in Decatur County
| Date | Reports that day | Largest hail | Peak gust |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2014-06-03 | 5 | 2.5" (tennis ball) | — |
| 2019-06-25 | 4 | 1.25" (half dollar) | 64 mph |
| 2015-05-17 | 3 | — | 62 mph |
| 2021-06-20 | 2 | 1.5" (ping pong ball) | 81 mph |
| 2012-05-24 | 2 | 1" (quarter) | — |
| 2010-04-30 | 2 | 1" (quarter) | — |
| 2014-03-27 | 2 | 0.88" (nickel) | — |
| 2025-09-17 | 2 | — | 71 mph |
| 2025-03-14 | 2 | — | 71 mph |
| 2021-12-15 | 2 | — | 67 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 W of Grand River | Report relayed by broadcast media. Delayed report, time estimated by radar. |
| 2014-06-03 | 2" hen egg | .76 mi SW of Lamoni | No narrative filed |
| 2014-06-03 | 2.25" hen egg | .52 mi NNW of Lamoni | No narrative filed |
| 2014-06-03 | 2.5" tennis ball | 2.57 mi S of Lamoni | No narrative filed |
When does hail hit Decatur County?
Across 16 years of records, June produced the most reports (27), followed by the months either side of it. Monthly totals:
| Month | Reports | Share |
|---|---|---|
| January | 0 | 0.0% |
| February | 0 | 0.0% |
| March | 5 | 7.1% |
| April | 8 | 11.4% |
| May | 14 | 20.0% |
| June | 27 | 38.6% |
| July | 6 | 8.6% |
| August | 3 | 4.3% |
| September | 5 | 7.1% |
| October | 0 | 0.0% |
| November | 0 | 0.0% |
| December | 2 | 2.9% |
Neighboring counties
Counties that share a border with Decatur County (U.S. Census county adjacency), where we have storm records:
| County | Storm reports | Largest hail |
|---|---|---|
| Harrison County, MO | 147 | 4" |
| Clarke County, IA | 127 | 3.5" |
| Union County, IA | 113 | 3" |
| Ringgold County, IA | 63 | 3" |
| Lucas County, IA | 62 | 2" |
| Mercer County, MO | 60 | 2.75" |
| Wayne County, IA | 53 | 2.75" |
Common questions about hail in Decatur County
- How often does it hail in Decatur County?
- Hail was reported on 20 separate days between 2010 and 2025, about 1.3 days a year, with June the busiest month for storm reports. 21 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 19053). 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.