Hail in Iowa, May 31, 2013

Name: Hail in Iowa, May 31, 2013
Start: 2013-05-31T20:10
End: 2013-05-31T22:19
Location: Iowa

May 31, 2013 · NWS DMX · 9 events in 3 counties and zones

A cold front dropped slowly southeast into Iowa. The severe parameters were not strong, however a narrow line of thunderstorms developed over north central Iowa into western Wisconsin.

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: $17,000
Crop damage: $45,000
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 DMX wrote it up.

A cold front dropped slowly southeast into Iowa. The severe parameters were not strong, however a narrow line of thunderstorms developed over north central Iowa into western Wisconsin. The storms trained along a slow moving line. Shear was strong with 65 kts of available shear. CAPE was a little over 1500 J/kg, with around 400 J/kg of CAPE available in the -10 to -30 C layer of the atmosphere. The storms produced hail up to golf ball size over north central Iowa. They also produced heavy rainfall of 2 to 3 inches in a short period of time in parts of Worth County. Antecedent soil conditions were nearly saturated. The heavy rains caused road closings as the water flooded over county roads.

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, 5:39 PM CST, 2 hours 31 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, May 31, 5:39 PM CST, 2 hours 31 minutes before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DES MOINES IA
639 PM CDT FRI MAY 31 2013

.SHORT TERM.../TONIGHT /...
ISSUED AT 325 PM CDT FRI MAY 31 2013

AREA REMAINS UNDER THE INFLUENCE OF THE STACKED SYSTEM ROTATING OVER
CENTRAL/EASTERN SD. A WEAK IMPULSE ROTATING AROUND THE MAIN UPPER
LEVEL LOW WILL PUSH EASTWARD THROUGH ERN NE/WRN IA TOWARD 00Z. THIS
MAY SET OFF SOME ISOLATED TO SCATTERED WEAK SHOWERS AND
THUNDERSTORMS ACROSS THE WESTERN/NORTHERN CWA. THIS ACTIVITY SHOULD
DIMINISH TOWARD SUNSET OR SHORTLY AS IT THE SCENARIO IS SIMILAR TO
THE DIURNALLY DRIVEN ACTIVITY OVER NE/SW IA ON THURSDAY. AS THE MAIN
UPPER LOW SLIDES EASTWARD BECOMING CENTERED OVER CENTRAL MN/NW IA BY
EARLY SATURDAY MORNING...EXPECT INCREASING LOW CLOUDS ACROSS THE
WESTERN/NORTHERN PORTION OF THE STATE. MAY SEE SOME WEAK SHOWERS
ACROSS THE NORTHWEST AS WELL. DRIER AIR CONTINUES TO FILTER IN TO
THE CWA AS WELL FROM THE WEST/SOUTHWEST OVERNIGHT...WITH DEWPOINTS
DROPPING INTO THE 50S AT MOST SITES. THIS SHOULD ALLOW TEMPS TO COOL
OFF OVERNIGHT AS WELL...WITH MOST SITES EXPECTED TO DROP INTO THE
LOW TO MID 50S OVERNIGHT.

.LONG TERM.../SATURDAY THROUGH FRIDAY/...
ISSUED AT 325 PM CDT FRI MAY 31 2013

PRECIPITATION CHANCES FOR BEGINNING OF PERIOD WILL BE CONFINED
SATURDAY...BEFORE UPPER LEVEL LOW PUSHES NORTH EASTWARD...FINALLY
BRINGING A BREAK TO PERSISTENT PRECIPITATION ACROSS IOWA.

SHORT WAVE WARPING AROUND DEPARTING LOW WILL TRACK ACROSS
NORTHERN IOWA THROUGH THE DAY SATURDAY...WITH INCREASING CHANCES
FOR PRECIPITATION...ESPECIALLY ACROSS THE NORTH. WAVE WILL BE QUICK
MOVING WITH ONLY LINGERING PRECIPITATION CHANCES CONFINED TO THE
FAR NORTHEAST EARLY SATURDAY. BEHIND RETREATING SYSTEM MUCH COOLER
AIR WILL PUSH SOUTH AS NORTHWESTERLY FLOW RETURNS UNDER RIDGE.
HOWEVER...MUCH NEEDED BREAK IN PRECIPITATION WILL BE RELATIVELY
SHORT LIVED AS ANOTHER LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM IS SET TO AFFECT THE
AREA FOR MUCH OF THE WEEK. LOW WILL TRACK ACROSS THE NORTHERN
PLAINS...WITH ASSOCIATED FRONTAL BOUNDARY PUSHING INTO IOWA
TUESDAY...INCREASING PRECIPITATION CHANCES. MODELS HAVE BEGUN TO
SLOW SYSTEM...AND MAY NOT SEE ONSET OF PRECIPITATION UNTIL LATER
TUESDAY NIGHT...HOWEVER WILL KEEP FORECAST TRENDED TOWARDS
GFS...AS ECMWF IS SLOWER SOLUTION. LOW WILL CONTINUE TO PULL
SLOWLY NORTHEASTWARD NEAR THE CANADIAN BOARDER...WITH ADDITIONAL
PROLONGED CHANCES FOR PRECIPITATION THROUGH MID WEEK. TEMPERATURES
WILL REMAIN SLIGHTLY BELOW NORMAL WITH WARMING FOR EARLY IN THE
WEEK AHEAD OF FRONTAL BOUNDARY BUT COOLER FOR REMAINDER OF PERIOD
BEHIND FRONT.

&&

.AVIATION...01/00Z
ISSUED AT 639 PM CDT FRI MAY 31 2013

WIND SPEEDS WILL DECREASE WITH SUNSET THIS EVENING...AND A FEW
SHOWERS AND STORMS THAT COULD BRIEFLY AFFECT KMCW WILL ALSO END
WITH DARKNESS. OVERNIGHT MID LEVEL CLOUDS WILL SLOWLY FILL IN FROM
THE NORTHWEST AHEAD OF AN APPROACHING LOW PRESSURE TROUGH. THIS
TROUGH WILL MOVE ACROSS THE AREA ON SATURDAY SPREADING SCATTERED
LIGHT SHOWERS...POSSIBLY A FEW THUNDERSTORMS...AND GENERALLY MVFR
CIGS ACROSS THE AREA. AT THIS TIME HAVE ADVERTISED ONLY VCSH FOR
SATURDAY IN THE 00Z TAFS AS IT IS BELIEVED THAT REDUCED VSBYS IN
PRECIP WILL BE RELATIVELY BRIEF...BUT THIS WILL BE MONITORED
OVERNIGHT TO SEE IF MVFR -SHRA BR NEEDS TO BE INCLUDED INSTEAD.

&&

.DMX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...NONE.

&&

SHORT TERM...BEERENDS
LONG TERM...AWB
AVIATION...LEE

Hazardous weather outlook, May 31, 6:22 PM CST, 1 hour 48 minutes before

HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DES MOINES IA
722 PM CDT FRI MAY 31 2013

IAZ004>007-015>017-023>028-033>039-044>050-057>059-070-011100-
EMMET-KOSSUTH-WINNEBAGO-WORTH-PALO ALTO-HANCOCK-CERRO GORDO-
POCAHONTAS-HUMBOLDT-WRIGHT-FRANKLIN-BUTLER-BREMER-SAC-CALHOUN-
WEBSTER-HAMILTON-HARDIN-GRUNDY-BLACK HAWK-CRAWFORD-CARROLL-GREENE-
BOONE-STORY-MARSHALL-TAMA-AUDUBON-GUTHRIE-DALLAS-CASS-
722 PM CDT FRI MAY 31 2013

THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF CENTRAL IOWA.

.DAY ONE...TONIGHT

ISOLATED THUNDERSTORMS ARE POSSIBLE THIS EVENING. THE SEVERE
THREAT IS LOW.

NUMEROUS RIVER FLOOD WARNINGS ARE IN EFFECT ACROSS THE AREA.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...SATURDAY THROUGH THURSDAY

SHOWERS AND ISOLATED NON SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WILL BE POSSIBLE
SATURDAY AFTERNOON. ADDITIONAL THUNDERSTORMS ARE FORECAST BETWEEN
MONDAY NIGHT AND THURSDAY OF NEXT WEEK. IT IS TOO EARLY TO
DETERMINE THE RISK OF SEVERE WEATHER BETWEEN MONDAY NIGHT AND
THURSDAY.

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...

SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS NOT ANTICIPATED.

IAZ060>062-071>075-081>086-092>097-011100-
POLK-JASPER-POWESHIEK-ADAIR-MADISON-WARREN-MARION-MAHASKA-ADAMS-
UNION-CLARKE-LUCAS-MONROE-WAPELLO-TAYLOR-RINGGOLD-DECATUR-WAYNE-
APPANOOSE-DAVIS-
722 PM CDT FRI MAY 31 2013

THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF CENTRAL IOWA.

.DAY ONE...TONIGHT

NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME.

NUMEROUS RIVER FLOOD WARNINGS ARE IN EFFECT ACROSS THE AREA.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...SATURDAY THROUGH THURSDAY

SHOWERS AND ISOLATED NON SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WILL BE POSSIBLE
SATURDAY. ADDITIONAL THUNDERSTORMS ARE FORECAST BETWEEN MONDAY
NIGHT AND THURSDAY OF NEXT WEEK. IT IS TOO EARLY TO DETERMINE THE
RISK OF SEVERE WEATHER BETWEEN MONDAY NIGHT AND THURSDAY.

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...

SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS NOT ANTICIPATED.

The radar

The La Crosse radar (KARX), 164 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 02:11 UTC.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

9 hail. Local standard time, as filed.

Hail, Worth

When: May 31, 8:10 PM CST
Where: Worth County, 2.61 mi WNW of Grafton
Measured: 1 in hail
Property damage: $1,000
Crop damage: $5,000
Reported by: Public
Coordinates: 43.340, -93.120

Hail, Worth

When: May 31, 8:14 PM CST
Where: Worth County, 0.85 mi SE of Kensett
Measured: 1 in hail
Property damage: $1,000
Crop damage: $5,000
Reported by: Broadcast Media
Coordinates: 43.340, -93.210

Report was relayed by KAAL TV. A possible funnel cloud was observed as well.

Hail, Worth

When: May 31, 8:25 PM CST
Where: Worth County, 0.69 mi N of Manly
Measured: 1.75 in hail
Property damage: $10,000
Crop damage: $15,000
Reported by: Law Enforcement
Coordinates: 43.290, -93.200

Hail, Worth

When: May 31, 8:42 PM CST
Where: Worth County, 1.47 mi SSW of Bolan
Measured: 1.25 in hail
Property damage: $1,000
Crop damage: $5,000
Reported by: Public
Coordinates: 43.360, -93.130

Hail, Worth

When: May 31, 8:49 PM CST
Where: Worth County, 2.6 mi ESE of Bolan
Measured: 1 in hail
Crop damage: $5,000
Reported by: Trained Spotter
Coordinates: 43.370, -93.070

A spotter reported penny to nickel size hail with a few quarters mixed in.

Hail, Worth

When: May 31, 9:16 PM CST
Where: Worth County, Grafton
Measured: 1 in hail
Property damage: $2,000
Reported by: Trained Spotter
Coordinates: 43.330, -93.070

Hail, Cerro Gordo

When: May 31, 9:50 PM CST
Where: Cerro Gordo County, 1.38 mi N of Mason City
Measured: 1 in hail
Crop damage: $5,000
Reported by: Trained Spotter
Coordinates: 43.170, -93.200

Nickel to quarter size hail falling along with torrential rain.

Hail, Worth

When: May 31, 9:50 PM CST
Where: Worth County, Grafton
Measured: 1 in hail
Property damage: $2,000
Reported by: State Official
Coordinates: 43.330, -93.070

This was the third wave of nickel to quarter size hail that moved through the area.

Hail, Franklin

When: May 31, 10:19 PM CST
Where: Franklin County, 0.51 mi W of Popejoy
Measured: 1 in hail
Crop damage: $5,000
Reported by: Trained Spotter
Coordinates: 42.600, -93.430

A trained spotter reported dime to quarter size hail.

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 2013 Every state in 2013 This day in weather history Warnings in Iowa, May 2013

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: 443450, 443451, 443452, 443454, 443453, 443600, 443455, 443601, 443456.