Kansas sits at the southern edge of the central Great Plains, where Gulf moisture and dry polar air collide on a seasonal schedule that roofing contractors know by feel. From 2014 to June 2026, our dataset captured 9,799 hail events across 105 counties, every county in the state, making Kansas one of the most consistently tracked states in our database. The picture that emerges is not simply "Kansas gets a lot of hail." It is more specific: Kansas hail follows an arc of surge, decline, and a partial recovery that has not held, and any contractor planning market coverage should understand it.
The Year-by-Year Record
The table below shows total hail events per year statewide. These are aggregated counts of hail records in the NOAA Storm Events Database, which enters hail of 3/4 inch and larger (NWS Instruction 10-1605). One inch is the National Weather Service threshold for severe hail, so the counts include some events below it.
| Year | Hail Events (KS) |
|---|---|
| 2014 | 980 |
| 2015 | 912 |
| 2016 | 1,034 |
| 2017 | 984 |
| 2018 | 811 |
| 2019 | 839 |
| 2020 | 597 |
| 2021 | 537 |
| 2022 | 463 |
| 2023 | 780 |
| 2024 | 767 |
| 2025 | 541 |
| 2026* | 554 |
| Total (2014 to June 2026) | 9,799 |
* Note on 2026: the NOAA file ends in June, so this row is a partial year and sits outside the worst-year comparison and the yearly average.
Three Phases and an Open Question
The data divides into three periods. From 2014 through 2017, Kansas averaged roughly 978 events per year, a consistently active stretch that peaked at 1,034 events in 2016, the single highest year in the dataset. The largest recorded hail stone reached 5.00 inches, a size that causes severe damage to any roofing material.
Between 2018 and 2022 the state entered a prolonged quieter phase. Activity slid from 811 and 839 events in 2018 and 2019 to just 463 in 2022, the lowest of all twelve full years. Contractors who entered the Kansas market during the active 2014–2017 period and stayed through the lean years learned firsthand that hail demand is cyclical, not guaranteed.
A recovery began in 2023 (780 events) and held in 2024 (767), but it did not last: 2025 closed at 541 events, below both. Kansas has not yet come back to its 2016 peak. The 2026 row (554 events through June) is a partial year, so it is shown but not set against the full years above.
What This Means for Kansas Contractors
Kansas has no statewide roofing license. Work is governed by city-level permitting rules, which vary considerably across the state's 105 counties. A contractor operating in Wichita faces different permit requirements than one working in Dodge City or Manhattan. Homeowners searching after a hail event are best served by contractors familiar with local code, and those contractors benefit from being visible in a verified directory when storm season activity rises.
Coverage Gaps That Still Exist
Despite 9,799 events tracked from 2014 to June 2026, rural western Kansas counties remain underserved by listed roofing contractors in our database. When hail strikes a county that has few or no listed contractors, homeowners have little choice but to rely on traveling crews with no local accountability. Expanding coverage in those counties is one of PickARoofer's ongoing priorities for the region.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many hail events has Kansas recorded since 2014?
Our dataset shows 9,799 hail events across Kansas from 2014 to June 2026, covering all 105 counties in the state.
What was the peak year for hail in Kansas?
2016 was the most active full year, with 1,034 recorded hail events. The quietest full year was 2022, which saw only 463 events.
What is the largest hail size recorded in Kansas?
The maximum hail stone recorded in our Kansas dataset measured 5.00 inches, a size capable of causing significant structural damage to roofing materials.
Does Kansas require a roofing license?
Kansas does not have a statewide roofing contractor license. Licensing and permitting requirements are handled at the city and county level, so requirements vary across the state.
How does PickARoofer verify Kansas contractors?
Because Kansas has no statewide roofing license, there is no state registry for us to check a license against, and Kansas is not among the states where our Verified badge is live. A Verified badge means we confirmed an active license against an official registry; it never confirms insurance. See How Verification Works.
Where the Kansas numbers come from
- NWS Instruction 10-1605, Storm Data Preparation (hail reporting rules, size guide)
- National Weather Service: thunderstorm safety (severe thunderstorm definition)
- NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database
- How Verification Works
Data: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, Kansas counties, 2014 to June 2026, processed by PickARoofer. Loaded into our database 2026-10-06. Links last verified 2026-09-24.
Method and limits of the hail counts, including why they are not limited to 1.0 inch hail: how we build our storm and hail figures.
Hail counts in this post come from the full NOAA hail table: every county in 50 states and DC, 2014 to June 2026, loaded October 6, 2026. The two sets give different totals because they cover different counties. Dataset versions.
Sources
- NOAA Storm Events Database (ncei.noaa.gov)
- NWS Instruction 10-1605 (weather.gov)
- National Weather Service threshold for severe hail (weather.gov)
How we write and fund our articles: editorial policy.
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