Hail in Iowa, May 30, 2002

Name: Hail in Iowa, May 30, 2002
Start: 2002-05-30T18:23
End: 2002-05-30T20:11
Location: Iowa

May 30, 2002 · NWS DVN · 9 events in 3 counties and zones

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 1 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. 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: None recorded
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 9

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.

Scattered thunderstorms developed over Northeast Iowa during the late afternoon and early evening ahead of a weak frontal boundary. Moderate instability and sufficient deep-layer shear provided a favorable environment for severe thunderstorms. There were several occurrences of large hail and even an isolated funnel cloud, but no damage was reported. The thunderstorms dissipated fairly quickly after sunset.

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 Quad Cities, IA wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at May 30, 1:10 PM CST, 5 hours 13 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, May 30, 1:10 PM CST, 5 hours 13 minutes before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE QUAD CITIES IA IL
210 PM CDT THU MAY 30 2002

.OVERVIEW...ANALYSIS SHOWS FAST JET STREAK ACROSS MONTANA TURNING
SOUTHEAST.  LEADING EDGE OF ENERGY PRODUCING A BROAD WIND SHIFT LINE OR
WEAK FRONT NOW INTO FAR NW IOWA.  MAIN DIFFERENCE ARE LOWER DEWPOINTS
BEHIND BOUNDARY.  ANALYSIS SUPPORTS SYSTEM TO PUSH SE ACROSS AREA THIS
EVENING AND INTO EARLY FRIDAY BEFORE BECOMING STATIONERY.  SATELLITE
SUGGESTING MOST MID LEVEL MOISTURE BEING SHUNTED EAST IN ADVANCE OF
SYSTEM WHICH MAY SUPPORT MORE ENERGETIC CONVECTION TONIGHT.

...ASSESSING POPS AND SEVERE POTENTIAL THIS EVENING WITH FRONT AND
THEN VERY UNSETTLED PATTERN THIS WEEKEND INTO NEXT WEEK WITH HEAVY RAIN
AND SEVERE WEATHER POTENTIAL...

.DIAGNOSIS AND DAYS 1-3...LATEST 18Z SURFACE DATA SUPPORTS MARGINAL
FORCING FOR LIMITED CONVECTION WITH ETA CLOSEST AT 18Z ON MOST LOW
LEVEL FEATURES AND CURRENT CONVECTIVE COVERAGE ALONG BOUNDARY...WITH
JUST SOME CELLS IN EASTERN WISCONSIN...AND ENHANCED CUMULUS NEAR MASON
CITY.  CALCULATIONS FROM DVN SVR WX CHKLST AND BLEP TECHNIQUE SUPPORT
ISOLATED TO SCATTERED STORMS LATE PM INTO EVENING HOURS WITH FAVORABLE
CONDITIONS FOR ROTATING CELLS OR SUPERCELLS...MOVING SSE.  HOWEVER...
QUESTION ON BL INSTABILITY AND TRIGGER...SO TORNADOES CHANCES AT PRESENT
APPEAR REDUCED...WILL NEED FOLKS TO MONITOR THIS FOR CHANGES NEXT 3-6
HOURS FOR ANY CHANGES OR LOCAL BOUNDARY DEVELOPMENT.  SO...ANTICIPATE
PRIMARY THREAT FOR MAINLY SOME LIMITED HAIL WITH RELATIVELY HIGH WBZ
10.5K AND SOME STRAIGHT LINE OR ENHANCED ROTATIONAL DOWN-DRAFTS IN
ROTATING CELLS...BEST CHANCE NORTH OF HIGHWAY 34.   AVN AND ETA MODELS
DIFFER ON AMOUNT OF MOISTURE AT TOP BL WHICH GREATLY IMPACTS MAX DOWN-
DRAFTS POTENTIAL. WILL LEAN TOWARD ETA WHICH IS MORE MOIST BASED CURRENT
SKY CONDITIONS. THUS...THIS WOULD PRODUCE NOT AS HIGH WINDS AS AVN PER
BLEP TECHNIQUE. COMPUTING WINDS FOR SFC T/TD OF 88/68..BLEP YIELDS NEAR
50KTS STRAIGHT LINE OR UP TO 84KTS IN MESO ENHANCED DOWNDRAFT TIL SUNSET
AND THEN DROPPING NEAR TO SLIGHTLY AFTER SUNSET 36 KTS STRAIGHT LINE UP
TO 64 KTS IN ROTATION FOR T/TD 82-83/66.  AVN PRODUCES VALUES 15-
20 KTS HIGHER.  ANYWAY...EXPECT CELLS AND FRONT TO MOVE EAST OR DIE
AFTER MIDNIGHT WITH DRIER AIR MOVING IN SUPPORTING LESS HUMID
CONDITIONS. WILL GO ON HIGH SIDE OF GUIDANCE BLEND INTO SATURDAY WITH
POPS LATE FRIDAY NIGHT MOST AREAS INTO SATURDAY WITH LIKELY WORDING
SOUTHERN AREAS AND CHANCE POPS NORTH.  THEN PATTERN REMAIN CONDUCIVE FOR
SIGNIFICANT STORMS WITH E-W BOUNDARY NEARBY AND IMPULSES EMBEDDED IN
ZONAL JET. THUS...EXPECT TWO TO THREE EPISODES OR MORE OF MCS/MCC
CONVECTION...OR EVEN INTENSE BOW ECHO/DERECHO VARIETY DUE TO SIGNIFICANT
BOUNDARY AND LOTS OF INSTABILITY AND MOISTURE GRADIENT TO FEED ON.  WILL
HAVE TO KEEP CHANCE POPS FOR NOW INTO SUNDAY NIGHT AS NO COHERENT AND
CONSISTENT PATTERN STANDS OUT FOR TIMING OF EPISODES OF CONVECTION.
WILL DO ESF TO EMPHASIZE HEAVY RAIN POTENTIAL.

.EXTENDED (MON-WED)...MEDIUM MODELS VARY QUITE A BIT SO WILL CONTINUE
CHANCE POPS INTO TUESDAY WITH SOME COOLER AND DRIER AIR SUGGESTED
WEDNESDAY.  AGAIN PATTERN FAVORABLE FOR HEAVY RAINS WITH ABOVE NORMAL
SEVERE RISKS.  CLOUD COVER DEFINITELY TO GREAT IMPACTS ON TEMPS AND
POSSIBLE LAKE EFFECT MONDAY...WILL TRY AND INCORPORATE TRENDS INTO
MEX/FMR GUIDANCE.

.DVN...
IA...NONE.
IL...NONE.
MO...NONE.

NICHOLS

In the hours before

Local storm report, May 30, 3:53 PM CST, 2 hours 30 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE QUAD CITIES IA IL
453 PM CDT THU MAY 30 2002

TIME(CDT)  .....CITY LOCATION..... STATE  ...EVENT/REMARKS...
           ....COUNTY LOCATION....

0424 PM    MARTELLE                  IA   45 MPH TSTM GUST
05/30/02   JONES                          REPORTED BY FIRE AND
                                          RESCUE.

0424 PM    MARTELLE                  IA   .25 INCH HAIL
05/30/02   JONES                          REPORTED BY FIRE AND
                                          RESCUE.

The radar

The Quad Cities radar (KDVN), 105 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 00:20 UTC.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

8 hail, 1 funnel cloud. Local standard time, as filed.

Hail, Linn

When: May 30, 6:23 PM CST
Where: Linn County, Alburnett
Measured: 1 in hail
Reported by: BROADCAST MEDIA
Coordinates: 42.150, -91.617

Hail, Linn

When: May 30, 6:42 PM CST
Where: Linn County, Springville
Measured: 1 in hail
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 42.067, -91.450

Hail, Linn

When: May 30, 6:45 PM CST
Where: Linn County, 1 mi N of Marion
Measured: 1 in hail
Reported by: GENERAL PUBLIC
Coordinates: 42.050, -91.600

Hail, Linn

When: May 30, 6:55 PM CST
Where: Linn County, Springville
Measured: 0.88 in hail
Reported by: EMERGENCY MANAGER
Coordinates: 42.067, -91.450

Hail, Linn

When: May 30, 7:00 PM CST
Where: Linn County, Springville
Measured: 0.75 in hail
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 42.067, -91.450

Hail, Cedar

When: May 30, 7:45 PM CST
Where: Cedar County, Buchanan
Measured: 1 in hail
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 41.767, -91.250

Funnel Cloud, Cedar

When: May 30, 8:00 PM CST
Where: Cedar County, 5 mi W of Tipton
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 41.772, -91.132 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Hail, Jackson

When: May 30, 8:10 PM CST
Where: Jackson County, 2 mi E of Preston
Measured: 0.75 in hail
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 42.050, -90.367

Hail, Jackson

When: May 30, 8:11 PM CST
Where: Jackson County, 2 mi N of Miles
Measured: 1 in hail
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 42.083, -90.317

What these are

Hail: Hail three-quarters of an inch or larger, or smaller hail that caused damage, filed with the largest stone measured.
Funnel Cloud: A rotating column of cloud extending from a thunderstorm that did not reach the ground.

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

The same day elsewhere

Every storm in Iowa in 2002 Every state in 2002 This day in weather history Warnings in Iowa, May 2002

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: 5297768, 5297769, 5297770, 5297771, 5297772, 5297773, 5297774, 5297775, 5297776.