Hail in Buena Vista County, Iowa

Hail May 15, 2026 · Buena Vista County, Iowa

0.88 in

Hail diameter

Where the report was made, with tornadoes recorded within 15 miles over the years.

The wider storm

The right entrance region of a jet within stronger flow across the northern tier of the U.S. helped to increase convergence by late afternoon and early evening along a cold front working eastward through northwest Iowa. Mixed-layer instability reached up to 1500-2000 J/kg courtesy of 8C/km mid-level lapse rates with deep-layer shear of 40 to 50 knots. Initially discrete cells produced large hail, with a tendency to evolve toward more linear structures.

Began near Storm Lake Arpt (42.6300, -95.2700).

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event 1343031. Narratives are written by the National Weather Service forecast office that issued the report.

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