Hail is not evenly distributed. Across the thousands of counties we track in our 11-year NOAA dataset (2014–2024), a small number of counties accumulate far more recorded events than their neighbors. The table below shows the 10 counties with the highest total hail event counts in our database, along with each county's FIPS code, state, event total, and the largest single hailstone recorded there.
Top 10 Hail-Heaviest Counties
| Rank | County | State | FIPS | Events | Max Size |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | County FIPS 08041 | CO | 08041 | 777 | 4.00" |
| 2 | County FIPS 46103 | SD | 46103 | 714 | 4.50" |
| 3 | County FIPS 48439 | TX | 48439 | 429 | 5.00" |
| 4 | County FIPS 56021 | WY | 56021 | 413 | 4.25" |
| 5 | FIPS 08123 (Greeley metro area county) | CO | 08123 | 406 | 4.25" |
| 6 | County FIPS 48121 | TX | 48121 | 400 | 5.90" |
| 7 | County FIPS 08125 | CO | 08125 | 355 | 5.25" |
| 8 | County FIPS 46093 | SD | 46093 | 317 | 4.50" |
| 9 | FIPS 40109 (Edmond metro area county) | OK | 40109 | 309 | 2.75" |
| 10 | County FIPS 48085 | TX | 48085 | 305 | 5.25" |
What This List Reveals
Colorado dominates the top of the list with three entries: County FIPS 08041 (CO) at 777 events, FIPS 08123 (Greeley metro area county) at 406, and County FIPS 08125 (CO) at 355. South Dakota places two counties — FIPS 46103 and FIPS 46093 — in the top eight. Texas places three counties in the list (FIPS 48439, FIPS 48121, FIPS 48085). FIPS 40109 (Edmond metro area county) in Oklahoma rounds out the ten.
The presence of Colorado at the top surprises some people. Colorado's Front Range and eastern plains sit directly under the hail-producing thunderstorm tracks that develop along the Rocky Mountain foothills and move east. County FIPS 08041's 777 events over 11 years represent a different kind of hail market than Texas: the event frequency is persistently high.
Frequency vs. Severity
Event count and maximum hail size tell different parts of the story. FIPS 40109 (Edmond metro area county, OK)'s 309 events include a maximum of only 2.75 inches — still damaging, but well below the 5.90 inches recorded at County FIPS 48121 (TX). A contractor assessing market opportunity should look at both figures: frequency determines how often the phone rings, while severity determines the average job size.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the hail-heaviest county in the database?
County FIPS 08041 (CO) leads with 777 recorded hail events from 2014 through 2024, with a maximum hail size of 4.00 inches.
Why does Colorado appear at the top of a hail list more than Texas?
Colorado's Front Range counties experience very high hail event frequency because thunderstorm tracks developing along the Rockies pass repeatedly over the same geography. Texas has a much larger land area and higher total event count statewide (13,632 events), but individual Colorado counties accumulate events at a high per-county rate.
What does FIPS code mean in hail data?
FIPS (Federal Information Processing Standards) codes are standardized numeric identifiers assigned to every US county. They are used in NOAA storm reports and our database to precisely identify which county an event occurred in, avoiding ambiguity from shared county names across states.
How recent is this data?
The dataset covers 2014 through 2024 — eleven full calendar years of NOAA Local Storm Reports filtered to hail events at 1.0 inch or larger.
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