Hail, Mahaska
- When
- May 31, 9:58 PM CST
- Where
- Mahaska County, 4 mi S of Rose Hill
- Measured
- 2 in hail
- Property damage
- $20,000
- Crop damage
- $5,000
- Reported by
- TRAINED SPOTTER
- Coordinates
- 41.267, -92.467
Hail in Iowa, May 31, 2002
A warm front extended out of Kansas, across central Iowa, into Illinois during the afternoon and evening of the 31st. A southern flow of very warm and moist air was in place both at the surface and aloft.
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
- $70,000
- Crop damage
- $58,000
- 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 warm front extended out of Kansas, across central Iowa, into Illinois during the afternoon and evening of the 31st. A southern flow of very warm and moist air was in place both at the surface and aloft. Dew point temperatures south of the front reached the mid 60s to low 70s. The airmass was very unstable, however a cap was in place which limited convection. A small cluster of severe storms developed southeast of Des Moines and moved through the Ottumwa area. The storms produced large hail and very heavy rain. In Mahaska and Wapello Counties, hail of golf ball up to 2 inch in diameter was reported. The hail damaged crops, roofs, and cars.
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 May 31, 8:15 PM CST, 1 hour 43 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, May 31, 8:15 PM CST, 1 hour 43 minutes before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION...UPDATED NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DES MOINES IA 915 PM CDT FRI MAY 31 2002 WL UPDATE TO HIKE TEMPS. DECENT WAA WITH WAVERING FNTL BNDRY SRN IA. ON BORDER OF CAP LINE TNGT HWVR DVLP SWELLING CU WITH PSBLE NEW CELLS JUST S OF KDSM AREA. GOES SOUNDINGS SHOW ANY DVLP SHULD BE HI BASED ELEVATED. .DSM...NONE FORSTER
In the hours before
Local storm report, May 31, 9:51 PM CST, 7 minutes before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DES MOINES IA
1051 PM CDT FRI MAY 31 2002
TIME(CDT) .....CITY LOCATION.....STATE ...EVENT/REMARKS...
....COUNTY LOCATION....
1049 PM 5 SE EDDYVILLE IA 1 INCH HAIL
05/31/02 WAPELLO REPORTED BY LAW
ENFORCEMENT OFFICIAL.The radar
The Des Moines radar (KDMX), 117 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 03:57 UTC.
Event by event
6 hail. Local standard time, as filed.
Hail, Wapello
- When
- May 31, 10:49 PM CST
- Where
- Wapello County, 5 mi SE of Eddyville
- Measured
- 1 in hail
- Property damage
- $5,000
- Crop damage
- $5,000
- Reported by
- LAW ENFORCEMENT
- Coordinates
- 41.117, -92.567
Hail, Wapello
- When
- May 31, 10:54 PM CST
- Where
- Wapello County, Chillicothe
- Measured
- 1.75 in hail
- Property damage
- $20,000
- Crop damage
- $5,000
- Reported by
- TRAINED SPOTTER
- Coordinates
- 41.083, -92.517
Hail, Wapello
- When
- May 31, 11:07 PM CST
- Where
- Wapello County, Ottumwa
- Measured
- 1 in hail
- Property damage
- $10,000
- Crop damage
- $33,000
- Reported by
- TRAINED SPOTTER
- Coordinates
- 41.017, -92.400
Hail, Wapello
- When
- May 31, 11:07 PM CST
- Where
- Wapello County, 1 mi S of Ottumwa
- Measured
- 0.88 in hail
- Property damage
- $5,000
- Crop damage
- $5,000
- Reported by
- TRAINED SPOTTER
- Coordinates
- 41.000, -92.400
Hail, Davis
- When
- May 31, 11:07 PM CST
- Where
- Davis County, Floris
- Measured
- 1 in hail
- Property damage
- $10,000
- Crop damage
- $5,000
- Reported by
- TRAINED SPOTTER
- Coordinates
- 40.867, -92.317
What these are
- Hail
- Hail three-quarters of an inch or larger, or smaller hail that caused damage, filed with the largest stone measured.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
The same day elsewhere
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Pennsylvania, May 31, 2002
- Heat in Missouri, May 31, 2002
- Tornado in New York, May 31, 2002
- Rip Current in North Carolina, May 31, 2002
- Tornadoes and Hail in New York, May 31, 2002
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Ohio, May 31, 2002
- Damaging Winds and Lightning Strikes in New Hampshire, May 31, 2002
- Tornado and Damaging Winds in Maine, May 31, 2002
- Hail and Damaging Winds in California, May 31, 2002
- Hail and Damaging Winds in New York, May 31, 2002
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Ohio, May 31, 2002
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Michigan, May 31, 2002
More
Every storm in Iowa in 2002Every state in 2002This day in weather historyWarnings 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: 5292683, 5292684, 5292685, 5292686, 5292687, 5292688.