Polk County, IA hail & severe wind history
645 storm reports on file for Polk County between 2010-04-05 and 2025-07-30 — 286 hail and 359 severe thunderstorm wind. That averages 40.3 reports a year, and Jun is the busiest month.
At a glance
- Most recent hail report: May 19, 2025 — 1" (quarter), 1.48 mi SSW of (Dsm)Des Moines Intl.
- Hail was reported on 74 days since 2010 — about 4.6 hail days a year.
- Largest hail on record: 3.25" (teacup) on Jul 9, 2021.
- Polk County has the most hail reports of the 99 Iowa counties we cover.
Search every Polk 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 Polk County storm reports…
Worst storm days in Polk County
| Date | Reports that day | Largest hail | Peak gust |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2013-09-19 | 34 | 1" (quarter) | 79 mph |
| 2011-06-09 | 33 | 1.75" (golf ball) | 60 mph |
| 2021-07-09 | 24 | 3.25" (teacup) | — |
| 2020-08-10 | 22 | — | 85 mph |
| 2014-05-08 | 21 | 2.75" (baseball) | 60 mph |
| 2017-05-17 | 20 | 1" (quarter) | 70 mph |
| 2014-06-17 | 18 | — | 74 mph |
| 2012-04-14 | 16 | 1" (quarter) | 66 mph |
| 2022-08-19 | 14 | 3" (teacup) | — |
| 2024-05-21 | 14 | 1" (quarter) | 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022-08-19 | 2" hen egg | .86 mi NE of Clover Hills | One and a half to two inch hail in Clive. |
| 2022-08-19 | 2" hen egg | 1.03 mi W of West Des Moines | Delayed report of egg sized hail in West Des Moines. Time estimated by radar. |
| 2022-08-19 | 3" teacup | .52 mi W of Clover Hills | WOI-5 reported three inch hail at the station in West Des Moines. |
| 2022-08-19 | 2" hen egg | .69 mi S of Clover Hills | Delayed report via social media of two inch diameter hail reported at Valley High School. Many cars with broken windshields. Hail damage to school resulted in water falling into the library with damage to books. Time estimated via radar. |
| 2022-08-19 | 2" hen egg | 0 mi N of Clover Hills | Hail at least 1.5 to 2 inches with many cars damaged at Valley West Mall. Delayed report, time estimated via radar. |
| 2022-03-05 | 2.5" tennis ball | .69 mi N of Hastie | Public report of 2.5 inch or greater hail stones in Pleasant Hill via Twitter. |
| 2021-07-09 | 2.75" baseball | 0 mi N of Urbandale | Report via mping app. |
| 2021-07-09 | 2" hen egg | 2.07 mi S of Polk City | Golf ball to egg sized hail at the NWS office in Johnston. Minor damage to vehicles. |
When does hail hit Polk County?
Across 16 years of records, June produced the most reports (150), followed by the months either side of it. Monthly totals:
| Month | Reports | Share |
|---|---|---|
| January | 0 | 0.0% |
| February | 0 | 0.0% |
| March | 34 | 5.3% |
| April | 47 | 7.3% |
| May | 141 | 21.9% |
| June | 150 | 23.3% |
| July | 113 | 17.5% |
| August | 78 | 12.1% |
| September | 62 | 9.6% |
| October | 8 | 1.2% |
| November | 4 | 0.6% |
| December | 8 | 1.2% |
Neighboring counties
Counties that share a border with Polk County (U.S. Census county adjacency), where we have storm records:
| County | Storm reports | Largest hail |
|---|---|---|
| Story County, IA | 328 | 2.75" |
| Dallas County, IA | 268 | 3" |
| Warren County, IA | 255 | 3.5" |
| Marion County, IA | 236 | 4" |
| Boone County, IA | 155 | 2.75" |
| Jasper County, IA | 151 | 2.75" |
| Madison County, IA | 114 | 2.75" |
Common questions about hail in Polk County
- How often does it hail in Polk County?
- Hail was reported on 74 separate days between 2010 and 2025, about 4.6 days a year, with June the busiest month for storm reports. 209 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 19153). 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.