Lyon County, IA hail & severe wind history
117 storm reports on file for Lyon County between 2010-04-24 and 2026-05-24 — 70 hail and 47 severe thunderstorm wind. That averages 6.9 reports a year, and Jun is the busiest month.
At a glance
- Most recent hail report: May 24, 2026 — 1" (quarter), 1.22 mi SE of Alvord.
- Hail was reported on 34 days since 2010 — about 2.1 hail days a year.
- Largest hail on record: 4" (grapefruit) on Aug 28, 2021.
- Lyon County has more hail reports than 63% of the 99 Iowa counties we cover.
Search every Lyon 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 Lyon County storm reports…
Worst storm days in Lyon County
| Date | Reports that day | Largest hail | Peak gust |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025-06-11 | 7 | — | 85 mph |
| 2021-08-28 | 6 | 4" (grapefruit) | 75 mph |
| 2025-07-28 | 6 | — | 85 mph |
| 2010-09-22 | 5 | 2.75" (baseball) | — |
| 2025-04-28 | 5 | 2" (hen egg) | — |
| 2010-04-24 | 5 | 1.75" (golf ball) | — |
| 2015-09-09 | 4 | 1.75" (golf ball) | — |
| 2014-06-16 | 4 | 1.75" (golf ball) | 60 mph |
| 2021-04-05 | 4 | 1.25" (half dollar) | — |
| 2019-06-27 | 4 | 1" (quarter) | 60 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025-04-28 | 2" hen egg | 4.08 mi W of George | No narrative filed |
| 2021-08-28 | 4" grapefruit | 1 mi E of Larchwood | Multiple pictures received of very large hail around Larchwood. Hail size ranged from tennis ball to as much as 4 inches in diameter. Several cars and houses reported to have all windows broken out. Property damage costs are a rough estimate. |
| 2021-08-28 | 2.5" tennis ball | .69 mi N of Larchwood | Crop damage is an estimate from insured losses. Information provided by the United States Department of Agriculture. |
| 2012-05-01 | 2" hen egg | 3.15 mi SSE of Alvord | Large hail was accompanied by strong winds. Leaves were stripped from numerous trees. |
| 2010-09-22 | 2.75" baseball | .5 mi E of Rock Rapids | Large hail dented vehicles and windshields;. |
| 2010-09-22 | 2" hen egg | 4.18 mi S of George Sudenga Arpt | Large hail dented a few vehicles. |
When does hail hit Lyon County?
Across 16 years of records, June produced the most reports (30), followed by the months either side of it. Monthly totals:
| Month | Reports | Share |
|---|---|---|
| January | 0 | 0.0% |
| February | 0 | 0.0% |
| March | 0 | 0.0% |
| April | 16 | 13.7% |
| May | 29 | 24.8% |
| June | 30 | 25.6% |
| July | 12 | 10.3% |
| August | 18 | 15.4% |
| September | 10 | 8.5% |
| October | 2 | 1.7% |
| November | 0 | 0.0% |
| December | 0 | 0.0% |
Neighboring counties
Counties that share a border with Lyon County (U.S. Census county adjacency), where we have storm records:
| County | Storm reports | Largest hail |
|---|---|---|
| Minnehaha County, SD | 351 | 3.5" |
| Sioux County, IA | 196 | 2.5" |
| Lincoln County, SD | 173 | 1.75" |
| O'Brien County, IA | 142 | 2.5" |
| Osceola County, IA | 88 | 1.75" |
Common questions about hail in Lyon County
- How often does it hail in Lyon County?
- Hail was reported on 34 separate days between 2010 and 2026, about 2.1 days a year, with June the busiest month for storm reports. 59 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 19119). 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.