Tornadoes and Hail in Iowa, May 18, 1997

Name: Tornadoes and Hail in Iowa, May 18, 1997
Start: 1997-05-18T14:35
End: 1997-05-18T19:53
Location: Iowa

May 18, 1997 · NWS DVN · 36 events in 13 counties and zones

5 inches. While there were a few reports of tornadoes; by far the most significant damage was done by large hail.

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

Open the live radar over this ground

The toll

Deaths: 0
Injuries: 0
Property damage: $40 million
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 36

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 DVN wrote it up.

A very costly hailstorm passed across northeast Iowa into extreme northwestern Illinois, bringing several waves of hail greater than 1.5 inches. While there were a few reports of tornadoes; by far the most significant damage was done by large hail. In particular the hailstorm which hit Iowa City did around 40 million dollars of damage in just fifteen minutes.

The radar

The Quad Cities radar (KDVN), 135 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 20:33 UTC.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

30 hail, 3 tornado, 3 thunderstorm wind. Local standard time, as filed.

Hail, Benton

When: May 18, 2:35 PM CST
Where: Benton County, Vinton
Measured: 1 in hail
Coordinates: 42.170, -92.030

Hail, Benton

When: May 18, 2:50 PM CST
Where: Benton County, Van Horne
Measured: 1.75 in hail
Coordinates: 42.020, -92.080

Hail, Benton

When: May 18, 3:05 PM CST
Where: Benton County, Shellsburg
Measured: 1.75 in hail
Coordinates: 42.100, -91.870

Hail, Benton

When: May 18, 3:05 PM CST
Where: Benton County, 3 mi S of Vinton
Measured: 1.75 in hail
Coordinates: 42.120, -92.030

Hail, Benton

When: May 18, 3:05 PM CST
Where: Benton County, 2 mi N of Vinton
Measured: 1.75 in hail
Coordinates: 42.200, -92.030

Hail, Linn

When: May 18, 3:15 PM CST
Where: Linn County, Cedar Rapids
Measured: 1 in hail
Coordinates: 42.000, -91.650

Tornado, Linn

When: May 18, 3:40 PM CST to 3:42 PM CST
Where: Linn County, 1 mi E of Lisbon
Rating: F1
Path length: 0.2 mi
Path width: 50 yd
Coordinates: 41.920, -91.370

Tornado passed across open country along highway 30.

Tornado, Cedar

When: May 18, 3:42 PM CST to 3:45 PM CST
Where: Cedar County, Mechanicsville to 5 mi W of Mechanicsville
Rating: F1
Path length: 3 mi
Path width: 50 yd
Coordinates: 41.900, -91.370

Tornado passed across open country along highway 30.

Hail, Dubuque

When: May 18, 3:50 PM CST
Where: Dubuque County, Farley
Measured: 0.75 in hail
Coordinates: 42.450, -91.000

Hail, Dubuque

When: May 18, 3:50 PM CST
Where: Dubuque County, Worthington
Measured: 0.75 in hail
Coordinates: 42.400, -91.120

Hail, Dubuque

When: May 18, 4:00 PM CST to 4:10 PM CST
Where: Dubuque County, Peosta
Measured: 1 in hail
Coordinates: 42.450, -90.850

One inch hail fell for 10 minutes.

Hail, Jones

When: May 18, 4:05 PM CST
Where: Jones County, 3 mi N of Oxford Jct
Measured: 1.75 in hail
Coordinates: 42.030, -90.970

Hail, Clinton

When: May 18, 4:15 PM CST
Where: Clinton County, Dewitt
Measured: 0.75 in hail
Coordinates: 41.820, -90.550

Hail, Benton

When: May 18, 4:20 PM CST
Where: Benton County, Van Horne
Measured: 1.75 in hail
Coordinates: 42.020, -92.080

Hail, Jackson

When: May 18, 4:30 PM CST
Where: Jackson County, 2 mi NW of Maquoketa
Measured: 1 in hail
Coordinates: 42.080, -90.720

Thunderstorm Wind, Linn

When: May 18, 4:30 PM CST
Where: Linn County, Mt Vernon
Measured: 65 kt (75 mph)
Property damage: $20,000
Coordinates: 41.920, -91.420

New grain bin destroyed and several old outbuildings damaged.

Hail, Dubuque

When: May 18, 4:32 PM CST
Where: Dubuque County, Dyersville
Measured: 1 in hail
Coordinates: 42.480, -91.120

Hail, Dubuque

When: May 18, 4:32 PM CST
Where: Dubuque County, Farley
Measured: 1 in hail
Coordinates: 42.450, -91.000

Hail, Iowa

When: May 18, 4:43 PM CST
Where: Iowa County, West Amana
Measured: 1 in hail
Coordinates: 41.820, -91.970

Hail, Dubuque

When: May 18, 4:55 PM CST
Where: Dubuque County, Graf
Measured: 0.75 in hail
Coordinates: 42.500, -90.870

Hail, Dubuque

When: May 18, 5:00 PM CST
Where: Dubuque County, Dubuque
Measured: 0.75 in hail
Coordinates: 42.500, -90.670

Hail, Linn

When: May 18, 5:00 PM CST
Where: Linn County, Coggon
Measured: 2 in hail
Coordinates: 42.280, -91.530

Numerous reports of hail damage.

Thunderstorm Wind, Linn

When: May 18, 5:00 PM CST
Where: Linn County, Fairfax
Measured: 61 kt (70 mph)
Coordinates: 41.920, -91.780

Tree damage and report of 70 mph winds.

Hail, Delaware

When: May 18, 5:05 PM CST
Where: Delaware County, Hopkinton
Measured: 4.5 in hail
Coordinates: 42.350, -91.250

Hail, Dubuque

When: May 18, 5:30 PM CST
Where: Dubuque County, Peosta
Measured: 1.75 in hail
Coordinates: 42.450, -90.850

Hail, Johnson

When: May 18, 5:35 PM CST
Where: Johnson County, Oxford
Measured: 1.75 in hail
Property damage: $1,000
Coordinates: 41.670, -91.830

Hail broke several windshields.

Hail, Johnson

When: May 18, 5:42 PM CST
Where: Johnson County, Coralville
Measured: 1.75 in hail
Coordinates: 41.680, -91.580

Hail, Johnson

When: May 18, 5:45 PM CST to 6:00 PM CST
Where: Johnson County, Iowa City
Measured: 2.75 in hail
Property damage: $40 million
Coordinates: 41.670, -91.550

A 15 minute "rain" of baseball sized hail caused $30 to $50 million dollars of damage. One insurance agent said "this was the worst storm since 1967." He went on to say; "everyone he insures who has a skylight now has a broken skylight." This included the skylights over the swimming pool in the downtown Iowa City Holliday Inn. The average home claim was $3500 and the average car claim was $2500. The hail caused widespread damage to individuals cars and between 300 and 500 thousand dollars worth of damage to each of four car dealerships interviewed.

Hail, Dubuque

When: May 18, 5:50 PM CST
Where: Dubuque County, Dubuque
Measured: 1.75 in hail
Coordinates: 42.500, -90.670

Hail, Cedar

When: May 18, 6:23 PM CST
Where: Cedar County, 1 mi S of Rochester
Measured: 1 in hail
Coordinates: 41.670, -91.170

Hail, Scott

When: May 18, 6:58 PM CST
Where: Scott County, Davenport
Measured: 0.75 in hail
Coordinates: 41.530, -90.580

Hail, Scott

When: May 18, 6:58 PM CST
Where: Scott County, Davenport
Measured: 1 in hail
Coordinates: 41.530, -90.580

Tornado, Scott

When: May 18, 7:00 PM CST
Where: Scott County, Bettendorf
Rating: F0
Path width: 10 yd
Coordinates: 41.530, -90.520

Brief tornado touchdown near 18th and Middle Road.

Hail, Scott

When: May 18, 7:14 PM CST
Where: Scott County, Bettendorf
Measured: 0.75 in hail
Coordinates: 41.530, -90.520

Hail, Muscatine

When: May 18, 7:30 PM CST
Where: Muscatine County, Muscatine
Measured: 1.75 in hail
Coordinates: 41.420, -91.050

Thunderstorm Wind, Des Moines

When: May 18, 7:53 PM CST
Where: Des Moines County, Burlington
Measured: 50 kt (58 mph)
Coordinates: 40.820, -91.080

What these are

Hail: Hail three-quarters of an inch or larger, or smaller hail that caused damage, filed with the largest stone measured.
Tornado: A violently rotating column of air in contact with the ground and extending from a thunderstorm, filed with its path, width and Fujita or Enhanced Fujita rating from the damage survey.
Thunderstorm Wind: Winds from a thunderstorm of 50 knots (58 mph) or more, or lower winds that caused damage or casualties. Measured gusts are marked MG, estimated EG.

After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.

The same day elsewhere

Every storm in Iowa in 1997 Every state in 1997 This day in weather history The tornado archive for Iowa, 1997 Warnings in Iowa, May 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: 5602593, 5602594, 5602595, 5602596, 5602597, 5602598, 5602599, 5602729, 5602600, 5602601, 5602703, 5602704, 5602705, 5602706, 5602707, 5602708, 5602709, 5602711, 5602710, 5602712, 5602713, 5602714, 5602715, 5602716, 5602717, 5602718, 5602719, 5602720, 5602721, 5602722, 5602723, 5602724, 5602725, 5602726, 5602727, 5602728.