Lee County, IA hail & severe wind history
187 storm reports on file for Lee County between 2010-04-30 and 2026-05-04 — 74 hail and 113 severe thunderstorm wind. That averages 11 reports a year, and Jun is the busiest month.
At a glance
- Most recent hail report: May 4, 2026 — 1" (quarter), 2.09 mi SE of Sawyer.
- Hail was reported on 43 days since 2010 — about 2.5 hail days a year.
- Largest hail on record: 4" (grapefruit) on Apr 8, 2020.
- Lee County has more hail reports than 70% of the 99 Iowa counties we cover.
Search every Lee 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 Lee County storm reports…
Worst storm days in Lee County
| Date | Reports that day | Largest hail | Peak gust |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2019-06-25 | 9 | 1" (quarter) | 75 mph |
| 2023-06-29 | 8 | — | 100 mph |
| 2023-05-07 | 7 | 1.75" (golf ball) | — |
| 2016-03-15 | 7 | 1.25" (half dollar) | — |
| 2010-06-21 | 6 | 1.25" (half dollar) | 60 mph |
| 2018-06-28 | 6 | — | 69 mph |
| 2018-07-19 | 5 | 1" (quarter) | 70 mph |
| 2013-05-19 | 4 | 2.75" (baseball) | — |
| 2024-07-07 | 4 | 1" (quarter) | 70 mph |
| 2019-09-27 | 4 | 1" (quarter) | 64 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022-09-19 | 2" hen egg | .69 mi S of Mooar | No narrative filed |
| 2020-04-08 | 4" grapefruit | 1.73 mi NW of Denmark | Fire department reported softball sized hail. |
| 2013-05-19 | 2.75" baseball | .53 mi W of Keokuk | Spotter reported baseball size hail knocked out sky lights at the Walmart store in northeast Keokuk. Golfball to baseball size hail was reported on the north end of the city, with nickel to quarter size hail on the south end of the city. |
When does hail hit Lee County?
Across 17 years of records, June produced the most reports (66), followed by the months either side of it. Monthly totals:
| Month | Reports | Share |
|---|---|---|
| January | 0 | 0.0% |
| February | 2 | 1.1% |
| March | 18 | 9.6% |
| April | 20 | 10.7% |
| May | 31 | 16.6% |
| June | 66 | 35.3% |
| July | 29 | 15.5% |
| August | 5 | 2.7% |
| September | 7 | 3.7% |
| October | 2 | 1.1% |
| November | 4 | 2.1% |
| December | 3 | 1.6% |
Neighboring counties
Counties that share a border with Lee County (U.S. Census county adjacency), where we have storm records:
| County | Storm reports | Largest hail |
|---|---|---|
| Des Moines County, IA | 189 | 2.75" |
| Van Buren County, IA | 141 | 3" |
| Clark County, MO | 130 | 2.75" |
| Henry County, IA | 120 | 2" |
Common questions about hail in Lee County
- How often does it hail in Lee County?
- Hail was reported on 43 separate days between 2010 and 2026, about 2.5 days a year, with June the busiest month for storm reports. 48 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 19111). 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.