Dubuque County, IA hail & severe wind history
272 storm reports on file for Dubuque County between 2010-04-05 and 2026-06-10 — 98 hail and 174 severe thunderstorm wind. That averages 16 reports a year, and Jul is the busiest month.
At a glance
- Most recent hail report: Apr 14, 2026 — 1.5" (ping pong ball), 3.7 mi NW of Cascade.
- Hail was reported on 36 days since 2010 — about 2.1 hail days a year.
- Largest hail on record: 3.5" (teacup) on Apr 3, 2011.
- Dubuque County has more hail reports than 85% of the 99 Iowa counties we cover.
Search every Dubuque 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 Dubuque County storm reports…
Worst storm days in Dubuque County
| Date | Reports that day | Largest hail | Peak gust |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2011-04-03 | 14 | 3.5" (teacup) | — |
| 2026-06-10 | 12 | — | 81 mph |
| 2024-07-15 | 11 | — | 97 mph |
| 2017-07-11 | 10 | 1.25" (half dollar) | 75 mph |
| 2013-04-29 | 9 | 2.5" (tennis ball) | — |
| 2026-03-10 | 9 | 2" (hen egg) | — |
| 2017-06-14 | 9 | 1.75" (golf ball) | — |
| 2019-06-30 | 8 | — | 100 mph |
| 2011-07-11 | 8 | — | 75 mph |
| 2010-04-05 | 7 | 1.25" (half dollar) | 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-03-10 | 2" hen egg | 2.07 mi N of Bernard | The time of the hail was estimated using radar. |
| 2026-03-10 | 2" hen egg | .69 mi S of Bernard | No narrative filed |
| 2013-04-29 | 2" hen egg | 2.31 mi SSE of (Dbq)Dubuque Muni Ar | Two inch diameter hail fell 2 miles south southeast of the Dubuque Regional Airport, IA around 824 pm CDT April 29. |
| 2013-04-29 | 2.5" tennis ball | 1.38 mi S of Key West | Tennis ball sized hail fell 3 miles northeast of the Dubuque Regional Airport, IA around 830 pm CDT April 29. |
| 2011-04-03 | 2" hen egg | .69 mi N of Dubuque | Two inch diameter hail fell 1 mile east northeast of Dubuque, IA at 821 pm CDT April 3. |
| 2011-04-03 | 3" teacup | .86 mi NW of Dubuque | Hockey puck sized hail fell 1 mile northeast of Dubuque, IA at 829 pm CDT April 3. |
| 2011-04-03 | 3.5" teacup | .69 mi N of Dubuque | Grapefruit sized hail fell 1 mile east northeast of Dubuque, IA at 830 pm CDT April 3 filling the streets with hail. |
When does hail hit Dubuque County?
Across 17 years of records, July produced the most reports (68), followed by the months either side of it. Monthly totals:
| Month | Reports | Share |
|---|---|---|
| January | 0 | 0.0% |
| February | 1 | 0.4% |
| March | 21 | 7.7% |
| April | 48 | 17.6% |
| May | 36 | 13.2% |
| June | 67 | 24.6% |
| July | 68 | 25.0% |
| August | 15 | 5.5% |
| September | 11 | 4.0% |
| October | 0 | 0.0% |
| November | 5 | 1.8% |
| December | 0 | 0.0% |
Neighboring counties
Counties that share a border with Dubuque County (U.S. Census county adjacency), where we have storm records:
| County | Storm reports | Largest hail |
|---|---|---|
| Jones County, IA | 189 | 3" |
| Delaware County, IA | 140 | 1.75" |
| Clayton County, IA | 128 | 2.5" |
| Jackson County, IA | 101 | 3" |
Common questions about hail in Dubuque County
- How often does it hail in Dubuque County?
- Hail was reported on 36 separate days between 2010 and 2026, about 2.1 days a year, with July the busiest month for storm reports. 77 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 19061). 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.