Hail in Iowa, March 29, 2012

Name: Hail in Iowa, March 29, 2012
Start: 2012-03-29T19:13
End: 2012-03-29T20:17
Location: Iowa

March 29, 2012 · NWS OAX · 3 events in 3 counties and zones

Scattered thunderstorms, some severe, developed north of a warm front that had pushed into southeast Nebraska late in the afternoon on March 29th. The storms produced mainly large hail and isolated super-cell thunderstorms produced very large hail in extreme southeast Nebraska.

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: None recorded
Crop damage: None recorded
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 OAX wrote it up.

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 Omaha, NE wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Mar 29, 2:11 PM CST, 5 hours 2 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Mar 29, 2:11 PM CST, 5 hours 2 minutes before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE OMAHA/VALLEY NE
311 PM CDT THU MAR 29 2012

.DISCUSSION...

MAIN CONCERN TONIGHT WILL BE CONVECTIVE DEVELOPMENT...AND
POTENTIAL SEVERITY. SURFACE FRONT HAD MOVED NORTH TO NEAR THE
KS/NE BORDER REGION...EXTENDING EAST FROM A SURFACE LOW IN NORTH
CENTRAL KANSAS. DEWPOINTS HAVE BEEN POOLING INTO THE LOWER TO MID
60S NEAR THE FRONT...AND GIVEN AGITATED STATE OF THE CLOUDS IN
THAT REGION...WOULD EXPECT SURFACE BASED INITIATION IN THAT
AREA BY 21-00Z...AND ITS IN THIS AREA WHERE WE'LL LIKELY SEE THE
MOST SEVERE WEATHER WHEN IT DEVELOPS. MEANWHILE...AN ADVANCING
COLD FRONT MOVING INTO NORTHEAST NEBRASKA WILL CONTINUE TO PROVIDE
A FOCUS FOR SHOWERS AND ISOLATED STORMS...TAPPING INTO SOME
ELEVATED INSTABILITY AND AVAILABLE WIND SHEAR. OVERALL...BEST
SEVERE THREAT APPEARS TO BE SETTING UP FROM OMAHA SOUTHWARD THOUGH
ACROSS SOUTHEAST NEBRASKA AND SOUTHWEST IOWA. CONVECTIVE ACTIVITY
SHOULD BE EAST/SOUTH OF THE FORECAST AREA BY MIDNIGHT.

RELATIVELY QUIET WEATHER IS EXPECTED WITH WARMING CONDITIONS
THROUGH THE WEEKEND. ANOTHER WEAK LOW MOVES DOWN THE MISSOURI
RIVER VALLEY ON SATURDAY...AND THIS MAY GENERATE SOME CONVECTION
ACROSS IOWA SATURDAY AFTERNOON AND NIGHT...BUT SHOULD NOT BUILD
THIS FAR WEST. OTHERWISE...IT WILL BE QUITE WARM SATURDAY AND
SUNDAY WITH HIGHS IN THE MID 80S. RECORDS ON SATURDAY ARE 88 AT
BOTH KLNK/KOMA. HAVE NOT GONE QUITE THAT HIGH...BUT LATEST MOS MAV
GUIDANCE IS APPROACHING THOSE VALUES. RECORD HIGHS ON SUNDAY ARE
A BIT HIGHER NEAR 90...SO WOULD BE MUCH HARDER TO BREAK RECORDS
THAT DAY.

A COLD FRONT IS EXPECTED TO MOVE INTO THE REGION SUNDAY
NIGHT...AND THIS SHOULD BRING ONE MORE CHANCE OF SHOWERS AND
THUNDERSTORMS...THAT SHOULD LINGER THROUGH MONDAY...BUT MORE
IMPORTANTLY...TEMPS THROUGH THE REMAINDER OF THE WEEK WILL BE
COOLER...WITH LOWS IN THE UPPER 30S AND 40S...AND HIGHS IN THE
LOWER TO MID 60S...BUT THEN WARMING INTO THE LOWER TO MID 70S.

&&

.AVIATION...18Z TAFS FOR KOMA...KLNK AND KOFK.

MVFR CIGS ARE EXPECTED TO CONTINUE THROUGH MUCH OF THE AFTERNOON
HOURS. SFC LOW PRESSURE IS CENTERED OVER NORTH CENTRAL KANSAS WITH
A WARM FRONT EXTENDING EWD ACROSS NORTHERN KANSAS AND INTO
MISSOURI. THIS FRONT WILL BE THE FOCUS FOR STRONG THUNDERSTORM
DEVELOPMENT AND MAY AFFECT THE KLNK TAF LATE THIS AFTERNOON AND
INTO THE EVENING HOURS WITH HAIL AND GUSTY WINDS POSSIBLE. IN
ADDITION...A SFC TROF LOCATED FROM CENTRAL SD THROUGH CNTRL NEB
AND INTO NORTH CENTRAL KANSAS WILL SHIFT EAST THIS AFTERNOON AND
BE ANOTHER FOCUS FOR THUNDERSTORMS WHICH WILL AFFECT KOFK AND
KOMA. MOST OF THE THUNDERSTORM ACTIVITY SHOULD SHIFT EAST OF THE
TAF SITES BY 03Z...LEAVING VFR CONDITIONS THRU THE REMAINDER OF
THE TAF PERIOD.

KERN

&&

.OAX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
NE...NONE.
IA...NONE.
&&

Hazardous weather outlook, Mar 29, 3:33 PM CST, 3 hours 40 minutes before

HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE OMAHA/VALLEY NE
433 PM CDT THU MAR 29 2012

IAZ043-055-056-069-079-080-090-091-NEZ011-012-015>018-030>034-
042>045-050>053-065>068-078-088>093-301145-
MONONA-HARRISON-SHELBY-POTTAWATTAMIE-MILLS-MONTGOMERY-FREMONT-
PAGE-KNOX-CEDAR-THURSTON-ANTELOPE-PIERCE-WAYNE-BOONE-MADISON-
STANTON-CUMING-BURT-PLATTE-COLFAX-DODGE-WASHINGTON-BUTLER-
SAUNDERS-DOUGLAS-SARPY-SEWARD-LANCASTER-CASS-OTOE-SALINE-
JEFFERSON-GAGE-JOHNSON-NEMAHA-PAWNEE-RICHARDSON-
433 PM CDT THU MAR 29 2012

THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF SOUTHWEST
IOWA...WEST CENTRAL IOWA...EAST CENTRAL NEBRASKA...NORTHEAST
NEBRASKA AND SOUTHEAST NEBRASKA.

.DAY ONE...TONIGHT AND FRIDAY

THERE IS A SLIGHT RISK OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS OVER SOUTHEAST
NEBRASKA AND SOUTHWEST IOWA. THE MAIN TIME FOR THUNDERSTORMS WILL
BE FROM 5 PM THROUGH 10 PM. LARGE HAIL AND DAMAGING WINDS ARE THE
MAIN THREATS.

AS A WARM FRONT LIFTS NORTH INTO SOUTHEAST NEBRASKA...AND A COLD
FRONT MOVES IN FROM CENTRAL NEBRASKA...ISOLATED TO SCATTERED
THUNDERSTORMS MAY DEVELOP THIS EVENING ACROSS ALL OF THE OUTLOOK
AREA. DUE TO STRONGER INSTABILITY AND SHEAR...ISOLATED SEVERE
WEATHER IS MOST LIKELY OVER SOUTHEAST NEBRASKA AND SOUTHWEST IOWA.
OTHERWISE...SMALL HAIL AND BRIEF HEAVY RAINS MAY ACCOMPANY ANY
THUNDERSTORM. ANY THUNDERSTORM ACTIVITY SHOULD EXIT THE AREA BY
LATE EVENING.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...FRIDAY NIGHT THROUGH WEDNESDAY

THERE IS A CHANCE OF THUNDERSTORMS SUNDAY NIGHT AND MONDAY.

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...

SPOTTER ACTIVATION MAY BE NEEDED ACROSS SOUTHEAST NEBRASKA AND
SOUTHWEST IOWA EARLY THIS EVENING.

In the hours before

Local storm report, Mar 29, 6:14 PM CST, 59 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE OMAHA/VALLEY NEBRASKA
714 PM CDT THU MAR 29 2012

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

0700 PM     HAIL             PLATTSMOUTH             41.01N 95.89W
03/29/2012  M1.25 INCH       CASS               NE   TRAINED SPOTTER

            HAIL FELL FOR 10 MINS PEA TO HALF DOLLAR SIZE

&&

DFOBERT

Local storm report, Mar 29, 6:23 PM CST, 50 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE OMAHA/VALLEY NEBRASKA
723 PM CDT THU MAR 29 2012

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

0718 PM     HAIL             4 S ALVO                40.81N 96.39W
03/29/2012  E1.00 INCH       CASS               NE   TRAINED SPOTTER

&&

JB

Local storm report, Mar 29, 6:27 PM CST, 46 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE OMAHA/VALLEY NEBRASKA
727 PM CDT THU MAR 29 2012

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

0708 PM     HAIL             PERU                    40.48N 95.73W
03/29/2012  E1.00 INCH       NEMAHA             NE   TRAINED SPOTTER

&&

JRB

Local storm report, Mar 29, 6:49 PM CST, 24 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE OMAHA/VALLEY NEBRASKA
749 PM CDT THU MAR 29 2012

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

0748 PM     HAIL             JANSEN                  40.19N 97.08W
03/29/2012  E1.00 INCH       JEFFERSON          NE   EMERGENCY MNGR

&&

JB

Local storm report, Mar 29, 7:00 PM CST, 13 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE OMAHA/VALLEY NEBRASKA
800 PM CDT THU MAR 29 2012

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

0759 PM     HAIL             2 S HUMBOLDT            40.14N 95.94W
03/29/2012  E1.00 INCH       RICHARDSON         NE   TRAINED SPOTTER

&&

JB

Local storm report, Mar 29, 7:13 PM CST, 0 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE OMAHA/VALLEY NEBRASKA
813 PM CDT THU MAR 29 2012

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

0753 PM     HAIL             BENNET                  40.68N 96.51W
03/29/2012  E1.00 INCH       LANCASTER          NE   TRAINED SPOTTER

&&

JB

The radar

The Omaha radar (KOAX), 91 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 01:14 UTC.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

3 hail. Local standard time, as filed.

Hail, Montgomery

When: March 29, 7:13 PM CST
Where: Montgomery County, 3.45 mi N of Mc Pherson
Measured: 1 in hail
Reported by: Trained Spotter
Coordinates: 41.070, -95.330

Hail, Page

When: March 29, 7:42 PM CST
Where: Page County, 1.48 mi NNW of Braddyville
Measured: 1 in hail
Reported by: Trained Spotter
Coordinates: 40.590, -95.040

Hail, Fremont

When: March 29, 8:17 PM CST
Where: Fremont County, 0.52 mi E of Sidney
Measured: 1 in hail
Reported by: Trained Spotter
Coordinates: 40.750, -95.640

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 2012 Every state in 2012 This day in weather history Warnings in Iowa, March 2012

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: 363570, 363571, 363572.