Story County, IA hail & severe wind history
328 storm reports on file for Story County between 2010-05-25 and 2025-09-22 — 176 hail and 152 severe thunderstorm wind. That averages 20.5 reports a year, and May is the busiest month.
At a glance
- Most recent hail report: Jun 20, 2025 — 0.75" (penny), 1.72 mi NW of Ames. Last quarter-size (1") or larger: May 19, 2025, 1".
- Hail was reported on 53 days since 2010 — about 3.3 hail days a year.
- Largest hail on record: 2.75" (baseball) on Apr 12, 2014.
- Story County has more hail reports than 98% of the 99 Iowa counties we cover.
Search every Story 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 Story County storm reports…
Worst storm days in Story County
| Date | Reports that day | Largest hail | Peak gust |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2014-04-12 | 17 | 2.75" (baseball) | — |
| 2023-05-07 | 17 | 2.5" (tennis ball) | 63 mph |
| 2023-03-31 | 15 | 1.75" (golf ball) | — |
| 2020-07-11 | 14 | 2.5" (tennis ball) | — |
| 2018-05-25 | 12 | 2.25" (hen egg) | 61 mph |
| 2012-07-25 | 12 | 1" (quarter) | 68 mph |
| 2018-06-06 | 11 | 1.5" (ping pong ball) | 71 mph |
| 2014-05-20 | 10 | 1.75" (golf ball) | 64 mph |
| 2012-05-02 | 9 | — | 85 mph |
| 2018-05-01 | 8 | 2" (hen egg) | — |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2023-05-07 | 2.5" tennis ball | 2.31 mi NNW of Ames | Image received via twitter. |
| 2023-05-07 | 2.5" tennis ball | 2.58 mi NW of Ames | No narrative filed |
| 2023-05-07 | 2" hen egg | 2.07 mi NW of Ames | One to two inch hail. |
| 2020-07-11 | 2.5" tennis ball | 2.16 mi ENE of Roland | Emergency manager relayed a report of tennis ball sized hail at the intersection of 620th ave and 120th st in Story County. |
| 2020-07-11 | 2.5" tennis ball | 0 mi N of Roland | KCCI relayed a report of tennis ball sized hail. |
| 2020-07-11 | 2" hen egg | 1.47 mi NNW of Collins | Emergency manager reported 2 inch hail. |
| 2018-05-25 | 2" hen egg | 1.03 mi E of Huxley | Public reported large hail in Huxley via social media. |
| 2018-05-25 | 2.25" hen egg | .83 mi ESE of Huxley | Large hail nearly tennis ball size was measured and reported in Huxley. |
When does hail hit Story County?
Across 16 years of records, May produced the most reports (94), followed by the months either side of it. Monthly totals:
| Month | Reports | Share |
|---|---|---|
| January | 0 | 0.0% |
| February | 0 | 0.0% |
| March | 24 | 7.3% |
| April | 42 | 12.8% |
| May | 94 | 28.7% |
| June | 59 | 18.0% |
| July | 65 | 19.8% |
| August | 21 | 6.4% |
| September | 17 | 5.2% |
| October | 2 | 0.6% |
| November | 1 | 0.3% |
| December | 3 | 0.9% |
Neighboring counties
Counties that share a border with Story County (U.S. Census county adjacency), where we have storm records:
| County | Storm reports | Largest hail |
|---|---|---|
| Polk County, IA | 645 | 3.25" |
| Boone County, IA | 155 | 2.75" |
| Jasper County, IA | 151 | 2.75" |
| Marshall County, IA | 149 | 1.75" |
| Hardin County, IA | 116 | 1.75" |
| Hamilton County, IA | 86 | 2.75" |
Common questions about hail in Story County
- How often does it hail in Story County?
- Hail was reported on 53 separate days between 2010 and 2025, about 3.3 days a year, with May the busiest month for storm reports. 134 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 19169). 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.