Le Mars, IA Hail Storm – June 2025

What Happened

A severe thunderstorm moved through Le Mars, Iowa, on June 11, 2025, producing up to 1.25-inch hail in a concluded storm sequence. The event included two NWS alerts, with the first issued at 2:50 PM CDT and the second at 3:50 PM CDT.

Field reports centered on the early part of the event. At 2:54 PM CDT, a spotter in the Le Mars area reported mostly dime to nickel-sized hail, with some stones as large as a quarter, along with brief heavy rain. That report was logged as 1-inch hail and lines up with the radar-derived hail signal during the same time window.

The first alert carried radar and spotter-verified confidence for 1.25-inch hail. The later alert continued the hail threat at 1-inch size based on dual-polarization radar detection from NEXRAD. The timing shows a storm that held hail production through at least the mid-afternoon before weakening later in the cycle.

Damage Assessment

The field reports show surface impact that was real but localized. The quarter-sized stones reported near 2:54 PM CDT were the largest ground-truth size noted in the Le Mars area, while the rest of the observation described smaller dime to nickel-sized hail mixed with heavy rain.

That mix suggests a short window of hailfall rather than a prolonged hail core over one fixed point. In practical terms, the report points to scattered roof, siding, and vehicle exposure rather than a broad, uniform impact zone. The event did not produce a long list of large stone reports from the ground, but it did verify hail at levels that can still leave marks on softer exterior materials.

The two alert levels also point to a storm that kept a hail signal after the first verified report. The second alert at 3:50 PM CDT kept hail on the table at 1 inch, which fits a weakening but still organized storm structure over the Le Mars metro area. For damage assessment, the strongest evidence remains the spotter report and the radar-confirmed hail estimates tied to the same storm path.

In this event, the most useful damage clues come from timing and size spread. The hail did not stay at one size through the full storm. It dropped from the alert-level 1.25-inch estimate to a later 1-inch signal, while the spotter still described a mix of smaller hail and a brief burst of heavier rain. That pattern points to variable impact across the warning area, with the highest exposure near the early verified hail core.

What Contractors Should Know

For contractors working Le Mars after this event, the first step is to separate hail exposure from rain-only complaints. The 2:54 PM CDT spotter report placed quarter-sized hail in the same storm cell as smaller hail and heavy rain. That means property reviews should start with soft metals, south- and west-facing roof slopes, vinyl trim, window screens, and vehicles parked outdoors during the mid-afternoon window.