Hail in Iowa, May 3, 1996

A strong stationary front extended east to west to the south of Iowa. It actually extended across southern Kansas and Missouri. Strong warm air advection was taking place over the front while at the same time a weak short wave passed over Iowa. Convection erupted during the late afternoon hours. The convection was elevated convection and not surface based. Lifting the parcel from above the surface cap yielded CAPE values of nearly 1500 J/kg. Thunderstorms were widespread, however only a few became severe near the southwest edge of the thunderstorm area. The stronger storms produced copious amounts of hail, mostly pea to marble size. There were numerous reports of hail completely covering the ground, in some cases an inch or more deep. The WSR-88D indicated VIL values as high as 65 kg/m2 at one point, yet only penny-size hail was reaching the surface. The freezing level at the time was 10,800 feet MSL. One of the storms moved into Union County and produced winds of 55 to 60 MPH southwest of Creston. It is believed the winds resulted from the storms collapse. Damage from the storms was minor with no reports of significant damage.