Hail, Pocahontas
- When
- June 11, 9:30 PM CST
- Where
- Pocahontas County, Laurens
- Measured
- 1 in hail
- Property damage
- $3,000
- Crop damage
- $5,000
- Reported by
- TRAINED SPOTTER
- Coordinates
- 42.850, -94.850
Hail in Iowa, June 11, 2001
A very unstable airmass was in place over Iowa during the evening, but it was also quite capped. Thunderstorms developed to the north of Iowa an slipped south into the state.
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
- $10,000
- Crop damage
- $26,000
- Events
- 6
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 very unstable airmass was in place over Iowa during the evening, but it was also quite capped. Thunderstorms developed to the north of Iowa an slipped south into the state. An upper level disturbance moved into the state during the evening hours. Though the 700 mb temp was in the 10 to 12 degree C. range, thunderstorms were able to punch through the cap. CAPE values were over 5000 J/kg as late afternoon temperatures soared into the mid 90s and dew points reached the mid 70s to low 80s. A supercell formed in northwest Iowa and moved east into Pocahontas and Palo Alto Counties. The storm produced nickle size hail in several areas with some of the hail around one inch in diameter. The storm weakened during the late evening hours. During the rest of its life, the storm produced small hail, gusty winds, and heavy rainfall.
What forecasters said that day
The local office's own words before the first event, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.
NWS Des Moines, IA wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Jun 11, 2:30 PM CST, 7 hours earlier.
Area forecast discussion, Jun 11, 2:30 PM CST, 7 hours before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DES MOINES IA 330 PM CDT MON JUN 11 2001 FORECAST CONCERNS TONIGHT DEAL WITH SEVERE POTENTIAL AND TIMING. I WOULD HAVE THOUGHT WE WOULD GET SOMETHING GOING IN NW IA BY THIS TIME BUT THE MAIN GENESIS AREA REMAINS IN MN. STRONG CAP IN PLACE OVER WESTERN IA AND THIS WILL LIKELY REMAIN IN PLACE UNTIL THE COLD FRONT PUSHES THROUGH. WATER VAPOR IMAGERY SHOWING THE REMNANTS OF A SHEARED OUT SHORT WAVE MOVING THROUGH NEBRASKA. THE FEELING IS THAT THIS SHORT WAVE WILL ACT TO WEAKEN THE CAP ENOUGH SO THAT THE FRONT WILL OVERCOME IT WHEN IT MOVES THROUGH LATER THIS EVENING. ANY SEVERE CHANCES SHOULD BE CONFINED TO THE NORTHERN THIRD OF THE STATE...CLOSE TO THE WARM FRONT AND TRIPLE POINT ALTHOUGH I LEFT THE CHANCE FOR SEVERE WORDING IN THE SOUTHWEST PART OF THE CWA AS WELL BECAUSE IF THE SHORTWAVE DOES BREAK THE CAP AND SOME STORMS DEVELOP IT WILL STILL BE IN A FAVORABLE PART OF THE DAY FOR SEVERE WEATHER. MY MODEL OF PREFERENCE IS THE ETA/MESOETA AS THE TRACK RECORD HAS BEEN PRETTY GOOD WITH THEM AND THEY INITIALIZED WELL WITH THE CONVECTION THIS MORNING. KEEPING THIS IN MIND...THE MODEL PUSHES THE BOUNDARY SOUTH OVERNIGHT CONTINUING THUNDERSTORM CHANCES OVER THE CWA THEN BRINGS IN ANOTHER SHORTWAVE TUESDAY MORNING FOR ADDITIONAL CONVECTION MAINLY ACROSS THE NORTH ONCE AGAIN. HOWEVER...EVERYTHING WILL BE HINGANT UPON WHAT HAPPENS TONIGHT AND WHERE THE BOUNDARIES FINALLY SET UP. AS THIS IS KEY AND YET UNCLEAR...I HAVE KEPT POPS LOW IN THE SECOND PERIOD AND BEYOND AND REFRAINED FROM MENTIONING SEVERE WORDING. THE MID SHIFT WILL BE BETTER SUITED TO DEFINE THESE AREAS HAVING HAD TIME TO SEE WHERE THE BOUNDARIES ARE SETTING UP. MY THOUGHT FOR NOW IS THAT TUESDAY AFTERNOON SHOULD BE PRETTY WORKED OVER SO THUNDERSTORMS SHOULD NOT OCCUR BUT IF WE GET LITTLE CONVECTION OVER US TONIGHT THEN WE WILL BE PRIMED FOR AN ACTIVE DAY TOMORROW. THE NEXT BEST CHANCE WILL COME LATE WEDNESDAY INTO THURSDAY AS A STRONG SHORTWAVE LIFTS OUT OF THE WEST. ALTHOUGH WE SETTLE DOWN IN THE LATER IN THE EXTENDED WE STILL HAVE WEAK WAVES MOVING ACROSS SO I PUT SOME MENTION OF LATE DAY OR OVERNIGHT THUNDERSTORMS IN THE EXTENDED. .DSM...NONE. FAB
The radar
The Des Moines radar (KDMX), 155 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 03:27 UTC.
Event by event
6 hail. Local standard time, as filed.
Hail, Pocahontas
- When
- June 11, 9:30 PM CST
- Where
- Pocahontas County, 2 mi NW of Laurens
- Measured
- 1 in hail
- Property damage
- $1,000
- Crop damage
- $5,000
- Reported by
- TRAINED SPOTTER
- Coordinates
- 42.867, -94.883
Hail, Palo Alto
- When
- June 11, 9:38 PM CST
- Where
- Palo Alto County, Mallard
- Measured
- 0.88 in hail
- Property damage
- $1,000
- Crop damage
- $3,000
- Reported by
- BROADCAST MEDIA
- Coordinates
- 42.933, -94.683
Hail, Pocahontas
- When
- June 11, 9:40 PM CST
- Where
- Pocahontas County, Havelock
- Measured
- 1 in hail
- Property damage
- $3,000
- Crop damage
- $5,000
- Reported by
- TRAINED SPOTTER
- Coordinates
- 42.833, -94.700
Hail, Palo Alto
- When
- June 11, 10:02 PM CST
- Where
- Palo Alto County, 1 mi W of Ayrshire
- Measured
- 1 in hail
- Property damage
- $1,000
- Crop damage
- $5,000
- Reported by
- EMERGENCY MANAGER
- Coordinates
- 43.033, -94.867
Hail, Palo Alto
- When
- June 11, 10:55 PM CST
- Where
- Palo Alto County, Mallard
- Measured
- 0.88 in hail
- Property damage
- $1,000
- Crop damage
- $3,000
- Reported by
- BROADCAST MEDIA
- Coordinates
- 42.933, -94.683
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
- Flash Flood in Florida, June 11 to 12, 2001
- Tornadoes and Hail in Minnesota, June 11, 2001
- Tornadoes and Hail in Minnesota, June 11, 2001
- Tornado in Florida, June 11, 2001
- Flood and Hail in Wisconsin, June 11, 2001
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Wisconsin, June 11, 2001
- Heat in Texas, June 11, 2001
- Tornadoes and Damaging Winds in Wisconsin, June 11, 2001
- Tornadoes and Flash Flooding in Mississippi, June 11, 2001
- Damaging Wind in Mississippi, June 11, 2001
- Flash Flooding in Georgia, June 11 to 12, 2001
- Tornado and Hail in Wisconsin, June 11 to 12, 2001
More
Every storm in Iowa in 2001Every state in 2001This day in weather historyWarnings in Iowa, June 2001
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: 5246527, 5246528, 5246529, 5246530, 5246531, 5246532.