Hail, Appanoose
- When
- May 30, 12:33 PM CST
- Where
- Appanoose County, Moulton
- Measured
- 0.75 in hail
- Crop damage
- $5,000
- Reported by
- TRAINED SPOTTER
- Coordinates
- 40.683, -92.667
Hail in Iowa, May 30, 2004
The airmass remained unstable over Iowa through the mid day hours of the 30th. The cold front mentioned above had not yet passed through 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
- None recorded
- Crop damage
- $15,000
- Events
- 3
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.
The airmass remained unstable over Iowa through the mid day hours of the 30th. The cold front mentioned above had not yet passed through the state. At the same time, a mesoscale low pressure system lifted north into the state by mid day. Thunderstorms erupted along the eastern periphery of the low and became marginally severe over parts of southeast Iowa. Three quarter inch diameter hail fell in Wapello and Appanoose Counties as the narrow line of storms passed.
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 29, 1:30 PM CST, 23 hours 3 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, May 29, 1:30 PM CST, 23 hours 3 minutes before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DES MOINES IA 230 PM CDT SAT MAY 29 2004 .DISCUSSION... SHORT TERM...CU CONTINUE TO DEVELOP ALG 19Z WRMFNT FM NR KFSD...THRU DSM METRO...TO JUST S OF KOTM. SFC WINDS ARE INCREASING...BUT FLOW IS ALSO BACKING ACROSS SW IA WHICH COULD WEAKEN CONVERGENCE. NEG TILT SHORT WAVE LIFTING THRU KS/NEB SHOULD BE PRODUCING LIFT...BUT 18Z SOUNDINGS FROM OAX/TOP STILL SHOW CONSIDERABLE CAP. RUC SHOWS THIS ERODING...SO LOW CHANCES THAT THUNDERSTORMS COULD ERUPT AT ANY TIME ALGONG BOUNDARY. MOST LIKELY AREA APPEARS TO BE N OF KFOD...WHERE TORNADO WATCH HAS JUST BEEN ISSUED. HIGH LIKELIHOOD SCENARIO...WHETHER OR NOT STORMS DEVELOP ON WARM FRONT...IS FOR DEVELOPMENT TO OCCUR OUT IN NE NEB/SE SD...OR IN LOW-LEVEL CONVERGENT REGION SW OF OMAHA. THESE STORMS WOULD AFFECT CENTRAL IOWA MID AND LATE EVENING...WITH PLENTY OF SEVERE POTENTIAL AS WINDS INCREASE ALOFT. SEE PREVIOUS FORECAST DISCUSSION FOR MORE SHORT TERM DETAILS. FLOODING ALSO RMNS A SGFNT CONCERN AND FLASH FLOOD WATCH WILL CONTINUE FOR ALL OF CWA UNTIL SUNDAY MORNING. EVEN IF WRMFNT DOES NOT FIRE...PLENTY OF FORCING AND LOW LVL CVRGNC FOR TORRENTIAL RAINFALL RATES. POTENT LOW LVL JET FOCUSES RIGHT INTO IA BY 06Z WITH PLENTY OF MSTR AND DEEP WRM CLOUD DEPTH. SEE NO REASON TO ARGUE WITH HPC QPF. NRN IA IS ALREADY RE-FLOODING FROM OVERNIGHT RAINS...AND CENTRAL AND EASTERN SECTIONS ARE ESPECIALLY PRIME FOR FLASH FLOODING AGAIN. SYSTEM SHOULD BE FAIRLY PROGRESSIVE BY THE AFTER MIDNIGHT HOURS AND HEAVIEST RAIN RATES ARE EXPECTED TO BE OUT OF CWA BY 12Z. MINIMAL SHOWER/LIGHT CONVECTIVE POTENTIAL IS POSSIBLE SUNDAY UNTIL SFC/850 MB SYNOPTIC BOUNDARY MOVES THROUGH. COLD UPPER SYSTEM ALOFT SETTLES OVER UPPER MIDWEST FOR MON AND TUE. THIS WILL PRODUCE FAIRLY COOL TEMPERATURES AND AFTERNOON/EVENING SHOWER OR THUNDER POTENTIAL ESPECIALLY IN THE NORTH DUE TO STEEP MID LEVEL LAPSE RATES. REMAINDER OF THE WEEK LOOKS QUIET UNTIL POSSIBLY FRI NIGHT. WARM ADVECTION DEVELOPS AS LLJ INCREASES TO THE WEST. THIS WOULD BE FAVORABLE FOR NIGHT THUNDER ROLLING EAST...A BREAK DURING THE DAY ON SATURDAY AND POSSIBLY AGAIN SAT NIGHT. && .DMX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...FLOOD WATCH ENTIRE CWA 23Z SAT THU 14Z SUN. && EFFECTIVE 7 AM JUNE 8 2004...THE AWIPS PRODUCT IDENTIFIER FOR THIS PRODUCT WILL CHANGE FROM AFDDSM TO AFDDMX. THE WMO HEADER WILL REMAIN UNCHANGED. PLEASE ENSURE THAT ANY NEEDED CHANGES ARE COMPLETED BY JUNE 8 2004. JUNGBLUTH
Hazardous weather outlook, May 30, 11:06 AM CST, 1 hour 27 minutes before
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK...CORRECTION FOR CODING NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DES MOINES IA 1206 PM CDT SUN MAY 30 2004 IAZ062-075-085-086-095>097-311100- APPANOOSE-DAVIS-MAHASKA-MONROE-POWESHIEK-WAPELLO-WAYNE- 1206 PM CDT SUN MAY 30 2004 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR SOUTHEAST IOWA...ALONG AND SOUTHEAST OF A CORYDON TO GRINNELL LINE. .DAY ONE...THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT THERE WILL BE A SHORT PERIOD OF SCATTERED SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS THIS AFTERNOON AS STORMS FROM MISSOURI BRIEFLY AFFECT SOUTHEAST IOWA AFTER 100 PM. ALTHOUGH THEY WILL NOT BE LONG LIVED...THE STRONGER STORMS COULD PRODUCE LARGE HAIL...DAMAGING WINDS... TORNADOES AND BRIEF HEAVY RAIN. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...MONDAY THROUGH SUNDAY WIDELY SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS ARE POSSIBLE MONDAY AND TUESDAY AFTERNOON...HOWEVER THESE ARE NOT EXPECTED TO BE SEVERE. THE NEXT CHANCE OF THUNDERSTORMS WILL ARRIVE NEXT WEEKEND. AT THIS TIME IT IS TOO EARLY TO ASSES THE STRENGTH OF THE STORMS. .SPOTTER ACTIVATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION MAY BE NEEDED BRIEFLY THIS AFTERNOON. IAZ004>007-015>017-023>028-033>039-044>050-057>061-070>074-081>084- 092>094-311100- ADAIR-ADAMS-AUDUBON-BLACK HAWK-BOONE-BREMER-BUTLER-CALHOUN-CARROLL- CASS-CERRO GORDO-CLARKE-CRAWFORD-DALLAS-DECATUR-EMMET-FRANKLIN- GREENE-GRUNDY-GUTHRIE-HAMILTON-HANCOCK-HARDIN-HUMBOLDT-JASPER- KOSSUTH-LUCAS-MADISON-MARION-MARSHALL-PALO ALTO-POCAHONTAS-POLK- RINGGOLD-SAC-STORY-TAMA-TAYLOR-UNION-WARREN-WEBSTER-WINNEBAGO-WORTH- WRIGHT- 1206 PM CDT SUN MAY 30 2004 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR MUCH OF CENTRAL...NORTHERN... AND WESTERN IOWA. .DAY ONE...THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...MONDAY THROUGH SUNDAY WIDELY SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS ARE POSSIBLE MONDAY AND TUESDAY AFTERNOON...HOWEVER THESE ARE NOT EXPECTED TO BE SEVERE. THE NEXT CHANCE OF THUNDERSTORMS WILL ARRIVE NEXT WEEKEND. AT THIS TIME IT IS TOO EARLY TO ASSES THE STRENGTH OF THE STORMS. .SPOTTER ACTIVATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS NOT EXPECTED TODAY OR TONIGHT. SMALL
In the hours before
Local storm report, May 30, 7:45 AM CST, 4 hours 48 minutes before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DES MOINES IA
845 AM CDT SUN MAY 30 2004
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION...ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0225 AM TSTM WND DMG JAMAICA 41.85N 94.31W
05/30/2004 GUTHRIE IA NWS EMPLOYEE
A FEW TWO AND A HALF TO THREE FOOT DIAMTER TREES DOWNED.
2 MORE MEDIUM TREES SNAPPED AND DOWNED.
&&
GRAMSThe radar
The Des Moines radar (KDMX), 146 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 18:30 UTC.
Event by event
3 hail. Local standard time, as filed.
Hail, Appanoose
- When
- May 30, 1:10 PM CST
- Where
- Appanoose County, 8 mi E of Moravia
- Measured
- 0.75 in hail
- Crop damage
- $5,000
- Reported by
- GENERAL PUBLIC
- Coordinates
- 40.883, -92.733
Hail, Wapello
- When
- May 30, 1:15 PM CST
- Where
- Wapello County, 2 mi S of Blakesburg
- Measured
- 0.75 in hail
- Crop damage
- $5,000
- Reported by
- GENERAL PUBLIC
- Coordinates
- 40.900, -92.683
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
- Tornadoes and Flash Flooding in Indiana, May 30 to 31, 2004
- Tornadoes and Damaging Winds in Indiana, May 30, 2004
- Tornado in Indiana, May 30, 2004
- Flash Flooding and Flooding in West Virginia, May 30 to 31, 2004
- Tornadoes and Hail in Alabama, May 30 to 31, 2004
- Tornadoes and Flash Flooding in Kentucky, May 30 to 31, 2004
- Flash Flooding and Hail in Tennessee, May 30 to 31, 2004
- Flash Flood and Hail in Tennessee, May 30, 2004
- Tornado and Hail in Ohio, May 30 to 31, 2004
- Tornado in Missouri, May 30, 2004
- Tornadoes and Hail in Indiana, May 30, 2004
- Tornadoes and Flash Flooding in Illinois, May 30, 2004
More
Every storm in Iowa in 2004Every state in 2004This day in weather historyWarnings in Iowa, May 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: 5394523, 5394524, 5394525.