Hail in Iowa, June 17, 2001

Name: Hail in Iowa, June 17, 2001
Start: 2001-06-17T16:10
End: 2001-06-17T16:22
Location: Iowa

June 17, 2001 · NWS DMX · 2 events in 1 county or zone

A strong warm front became established to the south of Iowa. Temperatures in Iowa were in the low to mid 80s, with readings in the 90s to near 100 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

Open the live radar over this ground

The toll

Deaths: 0
Injuries: 0
Property damage: $10,000
Crop damage: $10,000
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.

A strong warm front became established to the south of Iowa. Temperatures in Iowa were in the low to mid 80s, with readings in the 90s to near 100 F. south of the front. Moisture was drawn north over the top of the front resulting in the development of thunderstorms. Though most of the storms were not severe, large hail was produced as one cluster of storms moved into Taylor County. These storms were from an area of severe thunderstorms that had formed to the west of the Des Moines CWA. One inch diameter hail fell in the town of New Market, with hail one and one half inches in diameter falling a short distance southeast of town. The storms weakened as they moved east away from the instability axis that was near the Missouri River.

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 17, 12:54 PM CST, 3 hours 16 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jun 17, 12:54 PM CST, 3 hours 16 minutes before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DES MOINES IA
154 PM CDT SUN JUN 17 2001

SHORT TERM...
SYNOPTIC AND MESOSCALE TRENDS ARE VERY COMPLEX TODAY, MAKING
DIFFICULT FORECAST.  SMALL MCS IN SC IA SHOULD CONTINUE TO TURN INTO
MO.  SURFACE PRESSURE FALL CENTER HAS BEEN TRACKING FROM SD INTO WC
IA, NOW CENTERED NEAR OMA.  THIS IS REFLECTIVE OF THE STRENGTHENING
WARM ADVECTION OCCURRING AS LLJ STARTS TO INCREASE AGAIN THROUGH KS
INTO EASTERN NE AND WESTERN IA.  MOIST PLUME NOTED ON WATER VAPOR
IMAGERY IS NOW AIDING HIGH BASED CONVECTION, WITH CONSIDERABLE
LIGHTNING NOW W OF OMA.  THIS WILL HAVE TO BE WATCHED CLOSELY AS OAX
POINTED OUT IN COORD CALL, TO SEE IF THIS CAN ENTRAIN VERY CAPPED,
BUT UNSTABLE SURFACE AIR NOW FEEDING UP FROM KS.  EXPLOSIVE
DEVELOPMENT COULD OCCUR IF THIS IS THE CASE.  SYNOPTIC BOUNDARY
APPEARS TO BE SETTING UP FROM JUST N OF SUX ACROSS NORTHERN IA WITH
BACKING SFC WINDS FURTHER N.  I EXPECT CLUSTER OF CONVECTION TO
DEVELOP IN THE SUX/FSD AREA ALSO BETWEEN 21-00Z, TRACKING INTO WC
AND CENTRAL IA, IN AGREEMENT WITH CORFIDI VECTORS AND SPC OUTLOOK.
HAIL AND EVEN DRY MICROBURSTS MAY BE MAIN CONCERNS INITIALLY, EXCEPT
NEAR THE SURFACE BOUNDARY.  AIR MASS SHOULD MOISTEN BY THIS EVENING
INCREASING THE TORNADO THREAT NEAR THE SYNOPTIC BOUNDARY AND ANY
OUTFLOW.  AFTER COORDINATION WITH OAX/FSD/MPX/ARX/DVN, MAY NEED TO
ISSUE FFA CENTRAL AND N, BUT WILL CONTINUE TO MONITOR SHORT TERM
TRENDS AND ANY SPC MCDS THAT MAY BE ISSUED.  A SECONDARY MCS APPEARS
LIKELY IN SD WHICH MAY SKIRT THE N COUNTIES ON MONDAY MORNING AS IT
MOVES WITH THE MID LEVEL WINDS TOWARD MN/WI.

LONGER TERM...
MESOSCALE BOUNDARIES WILL PLAY A STRONG ROLE IN THE FORECAST ON
MONDAY.  I BELIEVE THAT AS LOW AND MID LEVEL FLOW INCREASES, IT
SHOULD PUT A MOVE ON THE MCS ACTIVITY E OF OUR CWA, ALLOWING FOR
CLEARING AND MIXING TO OCCUR.  THIS MAY ALLOW FOR STRONG HEATING AND
WARMER THAN GUIDANCE HIGH TEMPS AS +24C 850 MB AIR MOVES IN, LIKELY
CAPPING ATMOSPHERE THROUGH LATE AFTERNOON, YET AGREE WITH SPC
OUTLOOK GIVEN INCREASING CONVERGENCE LATE, ESPECIALLY CENTRAL AND SW
ZONES.  HEAVY RAIN/FF THREAT MAY BE HIGHER THAN TONIGHT WITH 850-500
MB FLOW BECOMING ALIGNED MORE PARALLEL TO FRONT.  WILL KEEP LOWER
POPS N AND HIGHER POPS S MONDAY NIGHT.  WITH 850MB FRONT IN SOUTHERN
IA WITH DEW POINTS STILL AROUND 8C, ANOTHER WAVE OF CONVECTION STILL
POSSIBLE S.  WILL KEEP POPS LOW IN NORTHERN SECTIONS TUE.

EXTENDED...
WED FORECAST STILL MUDDY AS WELL WITH CANADIAN MODEL HOLDING
BOUNDARY IN PLACE, WHILE AVN/MRF PUSH IT S.  WILL HOLD ONTO CURRENT
POPS.  AGREE WITH ENSEMBLE POPS AND AVN/MRF KEEPING LATTER PART OF
WEEK DRY AND MILD FOR LATE JUNE.  MAY HAVE SOME UNORGANIZED COLD POOL
CONVECTION THIS WEEKEND AS CLOSED LOW DEVELOPS IN GREAT LAKES/OHIO
VALLEY, BUT WILL KEEP DRY FOR NOW UNTIL THAT BECOMES A MORE
CONFIDENT SOLUTtION.

.DSM...NONE

KULA

In the hours before

Special weather statement, Jun 17, 2:05 PM CST, 2 hours 5 minutes before

CENTRAL IOWA THUNDERSTORM OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DES MOINES IA
305 PM CDT SUN JUN 17 2001

...SEVERE WEATHER POSSIBLE IN NORTHERN AND WESTERN IOWA LATE THIS
AFTERNOON...

A SEVERE WEATHER WATCH MAY BE ISSUED IN NORTHWEST IOWA IN THE NEXT 1
TO 2 HOURS.  POTENT INSTABILITY AND HIGH WIND SHEAR ALONG AND NEAR A
WARM FRONT IN NORTHERN IOWA INTO NORTHEAST NEBRASKA WILL AID THE
DEVELOPMENT OF THUNDERSTORMS.  ANOTHER AREA OF THUNDERSTORMS MOVING
INTO WESTERN IOWA FROM NEBRASKA IS ALSO BEING AIDED BY STRONG
INSTABILITY...AN UPPER LEVEL DISTURBANCE AND INCREASING HIGH LEVEL
MOISTURE.  THESE STORMS COULD INTENSIFY RAPIDLY LATE THIS AFTERNOON
AS LOW LEVEL WINDS IN THE ATMOSPHERE CONVERGE IN THIS PART OF THE
STATE AND LOWER LEVEL MOISTURE INCREASES.  LOCALLY HEAVY RAINS WILL
BECOME A THREAT AS WELL OVERNIGHT...ESPECIALLY OVER THE NORTHERN
HALF.

SEE SITE SPECIFIC DETAILS BELOW FOR MORE INFORMATION.

IAZ004>007-015>017-023>028-033>035-038-039-044>046-181100-
BLACK HAWK-BREMER-BUTLER-CALHOUN-CARROLL-CERRO GORDO-
CRAWFORD-EMMET-FRANKLIN-GREENE-GRUNDY-HANCOCK-HUMBOLDT-KOSSUTH-
PALO ALTO-POCAHONTAS-SAC-WEBSTER-WINNEBAGO-WORTH-WRIGHT-
INCLUDING THE CITIES OF...ALGONA...CARROLL...DENISON...ESTHERVILLE...
FORT DODGE...MASON CITY...WATERLOO AND WAVERLY
305 PM CDT SUN JUN 17 2001

* EVENT TIMING... NOW THROUGH THE OVERNIGHT HOURS.

* THREAT CATEGORIES...
     TORNADO.......... MODERATE
     DAMAGING WINDS... MODERATE
     LARGE HAIL....... MODERATE
     FLASH FLOODING... MODERATE

* SPOTTER ACTIVATION OUTLOOK... MODERATE.

IAZ036-037-047>050-057>062-070>075-081>086-092>097-181100-
ADAIR-ADAMS-APPANOOSE-AUDUBON-BOONE-CASS-CLARKE-DALLAS-DAVIS-DECATUR-
GUTHRIE-HAMILTON-HARDIN-JASPER-LUCAS-MADISON-MAHASKA-MARION-MARSHALL-
MONROE-POLK-POWESHIEK-RINGGOLD-STORY-TAMA-TAYLOR-UNION-WAPELLO-
WARREN-WAYNE-
INCLUDING THE CITIES OF...AMES...ATLANTIC...BOONE...CENTERVILLE...
CHARITON...CRESTON...DES MOINES...GRINNELL...INDIANOLA...IOWA
FALLS...KNOXVILLE...LAMONI...MARSHALLTOWN...NEWTON...OSKALOOSA...
OTTUMMWA...PELLA...PERRY AND WEBSTER CITY

305 PM CDT SUN JUN 17 2001

* EVENT TIMING... 6 PM THROUGH MIDNIGHT.

* THREAT CATEGORIES...
     TORNADO.......... LOW
     DAMAGING WINDS... MODERATE
     LARGE HAIL....... MODERATE
     FLASH FLOODING... MODERATE

* SPOTTER ACTIVATION OUTLOOK... MODERATE

KULA

-------------------------------------------------------------------

THREAT KEY:
    TORNADO.......... ANY TORNADO OCCURRENCE
    DAMAGING WINDS... WINDS >= 58 MPH
    LARGE HAIL....... HAIL >= 3/4 INCH DIAMETER
    FLASH FLOODING... FLOODING CAUSED BY HEAVY RAINS WITHIN 6 HOURS
                      OF RAIN EVENT. POSES THREAT TO LIFE OR
                      PROPERTY.

THREAT CATEGORY KEY:  PROBABILITY OF THREAT OCCURRING WITHIN 25
                      MILES OF POINT WITHIN FORECAST AREA
    NONE....... NOT EXPECTED.  LESS THAN 5% ( 2% FOR TORNADOES)
    LOW........ 5-15% (2-15% FOR TORNADOES)
    MODERATE... 25-35%
    HIGH....... 45% OR GREATER

SPOTTER ACTIVATION OUTLOOK KEY:
    NOT EXPECTED
    LOW........ ACTIVATION POSSIBLE BUT NOT LIKELY
    MODERATE... POSSIBILITIES ABOUT 50-50
    HIGH....... ACTIVATION LIKELY

FOR MORE INFORMATION ON PROBABILISTIC SEVERE WEATHER OUTLOOKS...GO
TO THE STORM PREDICTION CENTER WEBSITE AT
WWW.SPC.NOAA. GOV/PRODUCTS/OUTLOOK/PROBINFO.HTML .

The radar

The Omaha radar (KOAX), 139 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 22:08 UTC.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

2 hail. Local standard time, as filed.

Hail, Taylor

When: June 17, 4:10 PM CST
Where: Taylor County, New Market
Measured: 1 in hail
Property damage: $5,000
Crop damage: $5,000
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 40.733, -94.900

Hail, Taylor

When: June 17, 4:22 PM CST
Where: Taylor County, 4 mi SE of New Market
Measured: 1.5 in hail
Property damage: $5,000
Crop damage: $5,000
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 40.700, -94.850

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

Every storm in Iowa in 2001 Every state in 2001 This day in weather history Warnings 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: 5246715, 5246716.