NOAA Storm Events · May 2016
Hail in May 2016: 2,576 NOAA reports across 38 states
NOAA logged 2,576 hail reports in May 2016, in 879 counties across 38 states. Texas had the most (525). The largest stone was 5 inches (a softball), near Cheneys in Lancaster County, Nebraska, on May 9, 2016. The worst day was May 26, 2016, with 273 reports in 13 states.
- Where
- 879 counties in 38 states; Texas had 20% of the reports
- Largest stone
- 5 inches, a softball, in Lancaster County, NE (near Cheneys), on May 9, 2016
- Worst day
- May 26, 2016: 273 reports in 13 states, 11% of the month
- Days with hail
- 31 of 31 days had at least one report
- under 1 in
- 1 to 1.74 in
- 1.75 to 2.74 in
- 2.75 in and up
Day by day
May 26, 2016 was the worst day with 273 reports. A day with hail averaged 83.
| May 1 | 136 |
|---|---|
| May 2 | 174 |
| May 3 | 75 |
| May 4 | 13 |
| May 5 | 12 |
| May 6 | 6 |
| May 7 | 54 |
| May 8 | 103 |
| May 9 | 187 |
| May 10 | 163 |
| May 11 | 175 |
| May 12 | 45 |
| May 13 | 71 |
| May 14 | 11 |
| May 15 | 15 |
| May 16 | 61 |
| May 17 | 40 |
| May 18 | 10 |
| May 19 | 4 |
| May 20 | 18 |
| May 21 | 109 |
| May 22 | 107 |
| May 23 | 89 |
| May 24 | 114 |
| May 25 | 101 |
| May 26 | 273 |
| May 27 | 67 |
| May 28 | 52 |
| May 29 | 181 |
| May 30 | 82 |
| May 31 | 28 |
Where it hit hardest
Ranked by NOAA hail reports. A report is one spotter or sensor entry for one county and storm, so counts follow where people live as well as where hail fell.
| TX | 525 |
|---|---|
| KS | 434 |
| NE | 203 |
| OK | 162 |
| MO | 132 |
| NC | 125 |
| KY | 121 |
| SD | 91 |
| CO | 85 |
| VA | 69 |
| # | State | Reports | Share | Largest |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Texas | 525 | 20.4% | 5 in |
| 2 | Kansas | 434 | 16.8% | 5 in |
| 3 | Nebraska | 203 | 7.9% | 5 in |
| 4 | Oklahoma | 162 | 6.3% | 4 in |
| 5 | Missouri | 132 | 5.1% | 4 in |
| 6 | North Carolina | 125 | 4.9% | 2.5 in |
| 7 | Kentucky | 121 | 4.7% | 2.75 in |
| 8 | South Dakota | 91 | 3.5% | 3 in |
| 9 | Colorado | 85 | 3.3% | 3 in |
| 10 | Virginia | 69 | 2.7% | 2.25 in |
| # | County | Reports | Largest |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sedgwick County, KS | 34 | 2.75 in |
| 2 | Donley County, TX | 29 | 2.5 in |
| 3 | Hartley County, TX | 25 | 2 in |
| 4 | Cowley County, KS | 23 | 1.75 in |
| 5 | Yellowstone County, MT | 23 | 2 in |
| 6 | El Paso County, CO | 20 | 1.5 in |
| 7 | Jackson County, MO | 20 | 3 in |
| 8 | Potter County, TX | 20 | 3 in |
| 9 | Johnson County, KS | 17 | 1.75 in |
| 10 | Carson County, TX | 16 | 2.5 in |
County names link to the full hail history where we have published that county. The CSV below lists all 879 counties and all 38 states.
How May 2016 compares
| Compared with | Reports | May 2016 was |
|---|---|---|
| April 2016 | 1,398 | +1,178 (+84%) |
| May 2015 | 1,477 | +1,099 (+74%) |
| the average May in the other 12 years | 2,072 | +504 (+24%) |
May 2016 was the 3rd busiest May of the 13 in the record and the 5th busiest of all 150 months.
| 2014 | 2307 |
|---|---|
| 2015 | 1477 |
| 2016 | 2576 |
| 2017 | 2321 |
| 2018 | 2347 |
| 2019 | 2370 |
| 2020 | 1489 |
| 2021 | 1383 |
| 2022 | 2283 |
| 2023 | 1769 |
| 2024 | 3244 |
| 2025 | 2835 |
| 2026 | 1036 |
Every May in the record, 2014 to 2026. Months after June 2026 are not in NOAA's file yet.
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Download the data
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, hail rows at county level, data through June 2026. Reports are preliminary and unverified: they show that hail was reported in a county, not that a given roof was damaged. Method: how we count. More: State of Hail by year · county hail history · press.
Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, public domain. Counts and tables on this page are free to reuse with credit to PickARoofer under CC BY 4.0.