Hail in Iowa, August 23, 2004

Name: Hail in Iowa, August 23, 2004
Start: 2004-08-23T13:50
End: 2004-08-23T13:55
Location: Iowa

August 23, 2004 · NWS DMX · 2 events in 2 counties and zones

Thunderstorms developed over central Iowa. Most of them were not severe and only produced 30 to 40 MPH winds and some small hail.

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: $2,000
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.

Thunderstorms developed over central Iowa. Most of them were not severe and only produced 30 to 40 MPH winds and some small hail. One storm became severe over Dallas County. It produced pea size hail with a few stones reaching quarter size. A short time later, another cell produced nickel size hail in Guthrie County east of Yale.

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 Aug 23, 8:51 AM CST, 4 hours 59 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Aug 23, 8:51 AM CST, 4 hours 59 minutes before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DES MOINES IA
951 AM CDT MON AUG 23 2004

.DISCUSSION...
LTL CHG TO GOING FCST TDA...BUT DID EXPAND POPS FA WIDE THIS AFTN.
EXPANSIVE MCSS IN PROGRESS ACRS KS/MO WITH OTHER LINGERING TSTMS
ACRS PTNS OF NE AND MN.  12Z KOAX SOUNDING AND LATEST RUC SHOW
FAIRLY STEEP LAPSE RATES AND DEEP LYR INSTABILTY PUSHING EWD INTO
FA.  PRIMARY QG FORCING ASSOCD WITH SVRL SHRT WVS FLOATING TWRD MO
VLY IN BASE OF TROF SPLITTING FA TO NW AND S ATTM...BUT STILL FEEL
IT WL BE ENOUGH TO TRIGGER DVLPMT THIS AFTN.  COULD SEE ELEVATED
CONVECTION AND SFC BASED LATER.  12Z RUC INDCS DMSHG SFC CIN BY
AFTN...AND 14Z SFC ANLYS INDCS WRMFNT AND WEAK CNVGNC ZN ACRS CNTRL
NE THRU CNTRL IA TWRD KDBQ WITH DWPNTS APCHG 70F.  AS MENTIONED WITH
PREVIOUS FCST...FEEL SVR THREAT LTD TO PULSE HAIL WITH WEAK SHEAR IN
PLACE.  LCLLY HVY RAINS MAY BE A GREATER LIKELIHOOD WITH DEEP WRM
CLD LYR AND SLOW STORM MOVMT XPCD.  H85/H3 STEERING WNDS ONLY 10-15
KTS.

NO CHGS TO TEMPS THIS AFTN.  ALTHOUGH WE ARE NOT THAT FAR OFF FM
XPCD MAXES...FEEL CU AND PCPN DVLPMT THIS AFTN SHOULD HOLD US IN
CHECK.

&&

.DMX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...NONE

&&

SMALL

Hazardous weather outlook, Aug 23, 9:06 AM CST, 4 hours 44 minutes before

HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK...CORRECTION FOR SPELLING 1ST PARAGRAPH
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DES MOINES IA
1006 AM CDT MON AUG 23 2004

IAZ004>007-015>017-023>026-033>037-044>046-241100-
CALHOUN-CARROLL-CERRO GORDO-CRAWFORD-EMMET-FRANKLIN-GREENE-HAMILTON-
HANCOCK-HARDIN-HUMBOLDT-KOSSUTH-PALO ALTO-POCAHONTAS-SAC-WEBSTER-
WINNEBAGO-WORTH-WRIGHT-
1006 AM CDT MON AUG 23 2004

THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR MUCH OF NORTH CENTRAL IOWA.

.DAY ONE...THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT

THERE WILL BE CHANCES FOR THUNDERSTORMS THIS AFTERNOON AND
TONIGHT.  THE STORMS WILL BE SLOW MOVING WITH AMPLE MOISTURE
AVAILABLE...SO SOME SPOTS COULD SEE LOCALLY HEAVY RAINS AND
FLOODING.  A FEW OF THE STORMS COULD ALSO PRODUCE BRIEF PERIODS OF
UP TO NICKEL SIZED HAIL.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...TUESDAY THROUGH SUNDAY

THERE ARE CHANCES FOR LATE DAY AND NIGHTTIME THUNDERSTORMS NEARLY
EVERY DAY THIS WEEK. HOWEVER...THE LIKELIHOOD OF SEVERE STORMS WILL
REMAIN SMALL.

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...

SPOTTER ACTIVATION MAY BE REQUIRED BRIEFLY LATER THIS AFTERNOON
AND EVENING.

IAZ027-028-038-039-047>050-057>062-070>075-081>086-092>097-241100-
ADAIR-ADAMS-APPANOOSE-AUDUBON-BLACK HAWK-BOONE-BREMER-BUTLER-CASS-
CLARKE-DALLAS-DAVIS-DECATUR-GRUNDY-GUTHRIE-JASPER-LUCAS-MADISON-
MAHASKA-MARION-MARSHALL-MONROE-POLK-POWESHIEK-RINGGOLD-STORY-TAMA-
TAYLOR-UNION-WAPELLO-WARREN-WAYNE-
1006 AM CDT MON AUG 23 2004

THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR MUCH OF CENTRAL AND SOUTH
CENTRAL IOWA.

.DAY ONE...THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT

THERE WILL BE CHANCES FOR THUNDERSTORMS THIS AFTERNOON AND
TONIGHT.  THE STORMS WILL BE SLOW MOVING WITH AMPLE MOISTURE
AVAILABLE...SO SOME SPOTS COULD SEE LOCALLY HEAVY RAINS AND
FLOODING.  A FEW OF THE STORMS COULD ALSO PRODUCE BRIEF PERIODS OF
UP TO NICKEL SIZED HAIL.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...TUESDAY THROUGH SUNDAY

THERE ARE SMALL CHANCES FOR LATE DAY AND NIGHTTIME THUNDERSTORMS
TUESDAY AND AGAIN FRIDAY. THE THREAT OF SEVERE WEATHER WILL
REMAIN QUITE LOW HOWEVER.

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...

SPOTTER ACTIVATION MAY BE NEEDED BRIEFLY THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING.

SMALL

In the hours before

Local storm report, Aug 23, 7:55 AM CST, 5 hours 55 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DES MOINES IA
855 AM CDT MON AUG 23 2004

..TIME...   ...EVENT...     ...CITY LOCATION...      ...LAT.LON...
..DATE...   ....MAG....     ..COUNTY LOCATION...ST.. ...SOURCE....
            ..REMARKS..

0500 PM     TSTM WND DMG     5 WSW CLEARFIELD        40.77N 94.56W
08/18/2004                   TAYLOR             IA   EMERGENCY MNGR

            MINOR DAMAGE TO FARM BUILDINGS...CARS...AND POWER POLES

&&

SMALL

The radar

The Des Moines radar (KDMX), 47 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 19:48 UTC.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

2 hail. Local standard time, as filed.

Hail, Dallas

When: August 23, 1:50 PM CST
Where: Dallas County, 2 mi SW of Dawson
Measured: 1 in hail
Property damage: $2,000
Crop damage: $5,000
Reported by: GENERAL PUBLIC
Coordinates: 41.833, -94.267

Hail, Guthrie

When: August 23, 1:55 PM CST
Where: Guthrie County, 3 mi E of Yale
Measured: 0.88 in hail
Crop damage: $5,000
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 41.783, -94.483

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 2004 Every state in 2004 This day in weather history Warnings in Iowa, August 2004

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: 5414955, 5414956.