Hail, Tama
- When
- August 23, 10:20 PM CST
- Where
- Tama County, 2 mi N of Traer
- Measured
- 0.75 in hail
- Crop damage
- $10,000
- Coordinates
- 42.230, -92.470
Hail in Iowa, August 23, 1997
A warm front lifted slowly north across Iowa during the day. The airmass became very unstable with dew point temperatures rising into the middle to upper 70s F.
Where it happened
Every event with a place to put it. Tap one for its entry below.
- Tornadoes
- Tropical storms and surge
- Floods
- Wind
- Hail
- Winter weather
- Heat and drought
- Cold
- Fire, smoke and dust
- Marine and coastal
- Other
The toll
- Deaths
- 0
- Injuries
- 0
- Property damage
- None recorded
- Crop damage
- $10,000
- Events
- 1
Deaths and injuries are direct and indirect together, as the offices filed them. Damage is property and crops in the dollars of the year, not adjusted for inflation, and only where an office estimated it.
What happened
The episode as NWS DMX wrote it up.
A warm front lifted slowly north across Iowa during the day. The airmass became very unstable with dew point temperatures rising into the middle to upper 70s F. in the vicinity of the front. This pushed CAPE values to near 5000 J/kg. Though much of the severe weather occurred to the northeast of Iowa, late evening storms brought gusty winds and some hail as far southwest at Tama County. Hail was restricted to dime size due to very warm air aloft. A 60 MPH wind gust was recorded in Grundy County at Dike.
The radar
The Des Moines radar (KDMX), 117 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 04:17 UTC.
Event by event
1 hail. Local standard time, as filed.
What these are
- Hail
- Hail three-quarters of an inch or larger, or smaller hail that caused damage, filed with the largest stone measured.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
The same day elsewhere
- Tornado and Hail in Iowa, August 23, 1997
- Tornado and Hail in Minnesota, August 23, 1997
- Hail and Damaging Wind in Wisconsin, August 23, 1997
- Flash Flooding in Wisconsin, August 23, 1997
- Damaging Wind in Texas, August 23, 1997
- Damaging Wind in Iowa, August 23, 1997
- Flash Flood in Minnesota, August 23, 1997
- Lightning Strike in New Mexico, August 23, 1997
- Damaging Wind and Lightning Strike in Florida, August 23, 1997
- Hail in Wisconsin, August 23, 1997
- Hail in Minnesota, August 23, 1997
- Hail and Damaging Wind in Minnesota, August 23, 1997
More
Every storm in Iowa in 1997Every state in 1997This day in weather historyWarnings in Iowa, August 1997
Sources
NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database, compiled from the National Weather Service’s monthly Storm Data. Complete through 2026-06; NCEI adds each month about 75 days after it ends and revises past years a few times a year. Rebuilt 2026-09-24. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 5610252.