Hail, Butler
- When
- May 23, 2:58 PM CST
- Where
- Butler County, Shell Rock
- Measured
- 3 in hail
- Property damage
- $50,000
- Crop damage
- $15,000
- Coordinates
- 42.720, -92.580
Hail in Iowa, May 23, 1998
The airmass remained very unstable over Iowa into the afternoon hours. Thunderstorms erupted over northeast Iowa and became severe quickly.
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
- $75,000
- Crop damage
- $20,000
- Events
- 2
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.
The airmass remained very unstable over Iowa into the afternoon hours. Thunderstorms erupted over northeast Iowa and became severe quickly. The result was large hail. Three inch diameter hail fell on Butler County at Shell Rock, with golf ball size hail in Parkersburg. Damage was reported to cars with broken windows and dents. Some windows were knocked out of a few houses as well. Needless to say, crops were damaged as well.
The radar
The Des Moines radar (KDMX), 145 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 20:57 UTC.
Event by event
2 hail. Local standard time, as filed.
Hail, Butler
- When
- May 23, 3:02 PM CST
- Where
- Butler County, Parkersburg
- Measured
- 1.75 in hail
- Property damage
- $25,000
- Crop damage
- $5,000
- Coordinates
- 42.570, -92.780
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
- Damaging Winds and Lightning Strikes in North Carolina, May 23, 1998
- Hail in Nebraska, May 23, 1998
- Hail in Kansas, May 23, 1998
- Flooding and Hail in Iowa, May 23, 1998
- Hail in Nebraska, May 23, 1998
- Tornado and Hail in North Carolina, May 23, 1998
- Flash Flood in Kentucky, May 23, 1998
- Tornado in Missouri, May 23, 1998
- Flood in Puerto Rico, May 23, 1998
- Damaging Wind in Illinois, May 23, 1998
- Hail and Damaging Wind in Missouri, May 23, 1998
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Kentucky, May 23, 1998
More
Every storm in Iowa in 1998Every state in 1998This day in weather historyWarnings in Iowa, May 1998
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: 5646918, 5646919.