Woodburn, IA Hail Storm – September 2025

What Happened

A hail storm moved through the Woodburn, IA area on September 16, 2025, with repeated NWS alerts showing 1-inch hail potential through the afternoon and evening. Field reports later documented larger stones in the broader storm area, including 1.25-inch hail in delayed social media reports.

The first alert came at 2:00 PM CDT with dual-polarization radar confidence for 1-inch hail. By 3:25 PM CDT, radar and spotter verification were already aligned on the same hail size. Alerts followed at 3:36 PM CDT, 3:42 PM CDT, 3:45 PM CDT, and 3:50 PM CDT, then continued through late afternoon and evening with the same 1-inch estimate. The sequence included both radar-derived and spotter-verified confidence, with additional alerts at 4:01 PM CDT, 4:13 PM CDT, 4:20 PM CDT, 4:26 PM CDT, 4:34 PM CDT, 5:21 PM CDT, 5:35 PM CDT, 5:52 PM CDT, 6:28 PM CDT, 7:57 PM CDT, and 8:23 PM CDT.

Spotter reports added ground truth during the event. At 3:45 PM CDT, one trained observer described sheets of dime to quarter size hail. Another report at the same time gave the same description. Later, delayed reports from social media at 4:00 PM CDT noted 1.25-inch hail, repeated in multiple reports. A 5:25 PM CDT report also placed hail up to half-dollar size in the storm path.

The broader storm area included other hail observations in the region. At 4:10 PM CDT, trained spotters reported nickel-sized hail on Highway 34 east of Creston. A late report at 7:59 PM CDT noted nickel to quarter-sized hail in Fort Dodge. The Woodburn event sat within a larger multi-zone hail sequence across Iowa during the afternoon and evening.

Damage Assessment

The field reports point to a hail event with enough intensity to produce repeated small-to-moderate stone sizes, with several verified reports above the 1-inch threshold. The delayed 1.25-inch accounts in the Woodburn area, along with the 5:25 PM CDT report of half-dollar hail, show localized larger stones within the broader storm path.

The 3:45 PM CDT spotter reports of dime to quarter size hail suggest a core area of accumulating hail, not just isolated stones. The repeated radar and spotter updates through the afternoon support a storm that held its hail signature for several hours rather than a brief pulse. The later reports show the hail threat did not end quickly after the first round of warnings.

No hail size in the field reports suggests a widespread large-hail outbreak across every part of the warning area. The reports instead show a corridor of moderate hail with pockets of larger stones, including the delayed 1.25-inch observations. Contractors should treat the event as a multi-report hail case with variable intensity across the storm path.

What Contractors Should Know

Woodburn sits in a region where hail events can move quickly across open ground and scattered towns. For this storm, the report trail starts with 1-inch radar estimates, then shifts to spotter-verified 1.25-inch stones in delayed accounts. That pattern calls for roof, soft metal, and gutter inspections first, then collateral checks on siding, vents, window screens, and accessories exposed to a narrow hail core.