Hail in Iowa, June 24, 1997

A moist and unstable airmass remained in place over Iowa. Following the passage of a tropical low pressure area to the west the previous night, a cold front began sinking southeast into the state. Dew point temperatures ahead of the cold front were in the 70 to 75 degree range. Wind profiles were weak, which limited the severe weather potential. Thunderstorms fired up ahead of the cold front during the late afternoon hours and a few of them became severe toward evening into the evening hours. The storms produced heavy rainfall and gusty winds, however no severe winds were reported. Hail was common with many of the storms with most of the hail around pea size. Larger hail did occur with some of the storms for a brief period. Golf ball size hail fell in Sac County as one of the stronger storms passed. Another storm became severe briefly and produced golf ball size hail in Madison County. Other reports of hail included fairly small hail, an inch or less in diameter.