Shelby County, IA hail & severe wind history
109 storm reports on file for Shelby County between 2010-04-05 and 2026-06-01 — 49 hail and 60 severe thunderstorm wind. That averages 6.4 reports a year, and Jul is the busiest month.
At a glance
- Most recent hail report: Jun 1, 2026 — 1" (quarter), 4.86 mi S of Corley.
- Hail was reported on 31 days since 2010 — about 1.9 hail days a year.
- Largest hail on record: 3" (teacup) on Jun 30, 2014.
- Shelby County has more hail reports than 35% of the 99 Iowa counties we cover.
Search every Shelby 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 Shelby County storm reports…
Worst storm days in Shelby County
| Date | Reports that day | Largest hail | Peak gust |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2019-07-17 | 7 | 1" (quarter) | 70 mph |
| 2024-06-25 | 4 | 1.75" (golf ball) | 72 mph |
| 2011-08-18 | 4 | 1.75" (golf ball) | 64 mph |
| 2014-06-29 | 4 | 1" (quarter) | — |
| 2018-05-29 | 4 | 0.88" (nickel) | 70 mph |
| 2014-06-30 | 3 | 3" (teacup) | — |
| 2017-04-19 | 3 | 1.75" (golf ball) | — |
| 2014-05-20 | 3 | 1.75" (golf ball) | — |
| 2019-09-24 | 3 | 1" (quarter) | 60 mph |
| 2024-05-24 | 3 | — | 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2024-05-20 | 2" hen egg | 3 mi N of Harlan | The office received a report from the 911 Call Center of 2 inch hail that had fallen 3 miles north of Harlan, Iowa. |
| 2014-06-30 | 3" teacup | 0 mi N of Harlan | Numerous reports of large hail were received in and just to the south of the city of Harlan. The hail ranged from around quarter size to 3 inches in diameter. The hail was responsible for damage to windows, cars and roofs in and around town. |
When does hail hit Shelby County?
Across 16 years of records, July produced the most reports (25), followed by the months either side of it. Monthly totals:
| Month | Reports | Share |
|---|---|---|
| January | 0 | 0.0% |
| February | 0 | 0.0% |
| March | 1 | 0.9% |
| April | 12 | 11.0% |
| May | 22 | 20.2% |
| June | 23 | 21.1% |
| July | 25 | 22.9% |
| August | 13 | 11.9% |
| September | 9 | 8.3% |
| October | 0 | 0.0% |
| November | 2 | 1.8% |
| December | 2 | 1.8% |
Neighboring counties
Counties that share a border with Shelby County (U.S. Census county adjacency), where we have storm records:
| County | Storm reports | Largest hail |
|---|---|---|
| Pottawattamie County, IA | 202 | 4" |
| Harrison County, IA | 156 | 3" |
| Carroll County, IA | 125 | 2.5" |
| Cass County, IA | 117 | 3" |
| Crawford County, IA | 101 | 2.75" |
| Audubon County, IA | 86 | 1.75" |
Common questions about hail in Shelby County
- How often does it hail in Shelby County?
- Hail was reported on 31 separate days between 2010 and 2026, about 1.9 days a year, with July the busiest month for storm reports. 36 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 19165). 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.