Louisa County, IA hail & severe wind history
62 storm reports on file for Louisa County between 2010-07-23 and 2026-04-17 — 28 hail and 34 severe thunderstorm wind. That averages 3.6 reports a year, and Mar is the busiest month.
At a glance
- Most recent hail report: Mar 31, 2026 — 1.75" (golf ball), 0 mi N of Letts.
- Hail was reported on 17 days since 2010 — about 1.1 hail days a year.
- Largest hail on record: 2.75" (baseball) on Apr 3, 2014.
- Louisa County has more hail reports than 9% of the 99 Iowa counties we cover.
Search every Louisa 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 Louisa County storm reports…
Worst storm days in Louisa County
| Date | Reports that day | Largest hail | Peak gust |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016-03-15 | 5 | 2.5" (tennis ball) | — |
| 2026-03-31 | 3 | 1.75" (golf ball) | — |
| 2020-04-07 | 3 | 1.75" (golf ball) | — |
| 2017-05-17 | 3 | 1.75" (golf ball) | — |
| 2012-09-07 | 3 | 0.88" (nickel) | 66 mph |
| 2023-03-31 | 2 | 1" (quarter) | 119 mph |
| 2013-11-17 | 2 | 1" (quarter) | 69 mph |
| 2026-04-15 | 2 | — | 64 mph |
| 2024-06-13 | 2 | — | 81 mph |
| 2021-12-15 | 2 | — | 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016-03-15 | 2.5" tennis ball | 6.07 mi ENE of Grandview | This report was delayed. The hail was reported up to the size of tennis balls. Numerous cars sustained dents and windows were broken out at a generation station. |
| 2014-04-03 | 2.75" baseball | 0 mi N of Wapello | Local media relayed a public report of golf ball to baseball sized hail covering the ground. |
When does hail hit Louisa County?
Across 16 years of records, March produced the most reports (12), followed by the months either side of it. Monthly totals:
| Month | Reports | Share |
|---|---|---|
| January | 0 | 0.0% |
| February | 0 | 0.0% |
| March | 12 | 19.4% |
| April | 11 | 17.7% |
| May | 8 | 12.9% |
| June | 7 | 11.3% |
| July | 5 | 8.1% |
| August | 6 | 9.7% |
| September | 4 | 6.5% |
| October | 3 | 4.8% |
| November | 4 | 6.5% |
| December | 2 | 3.2% |
Neighboring counties
Counties that share a border with Louisa County (U.S. Census county adjacency), where we have storm records:
| County | Storm reports | Largest hail |
|---|---|---|
| Johnson County, IA | 295 | 2.75" |
| Des Moines County, IA | 189 | 2.75" |
| Muscatine County, IA | 159 | 2" |
| Washington County, IA | 141 | 2.5" |
| Henry County, IA | 120 | 2" |
Common questions about hail in Louisa County
- How often does it hail in Louisa County?
- Hail was reported on 17 separate days between 2010 and 2026, about 1.1 days a year, with March the busiest month for storm reports. 22 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 19115). 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.