NOAA Storm Events · December 2018
Hail in December 2018: 61 NOAA reports across 10 states
NOAA logged 61 hail reports in December 2018, in 44 counties across 10 states. Texas had the most (23). The largest stone was 2 inches (a hen egg), near Brackettville in Kinney County, Texas, on December 26, 2018. The worst day was December 1, 2018, with 31 reports in 6 states.
- Where
- 44 counties in 10 states; Texas had 38% of the reports
- Largest stone
- 2 inches, a hen egg, in Kinney County, TX (near Brackettville), on December 26, 2018
- Worst day
- December 1, 2018: 31 reports in 6 states, 51% of the month
- Days with hail
- 6 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
December 1, 2018 was the worst day with 31 reports. A day with hail averaged 10.
| December 1 | 31 |
|---|---|
| December 2 | 1 |
| December 3 | 0 |
| December 4 | 0 |
| December 5 | 0 |
| December 6 | 0 |
| December 7 | 0 |
| December 8 | 0 |
| December 9 | 0 |
| December 10 | 0 |
| December 11 | 0 |
| December 12 | 0 |
| December 13 | 0 |
| December 14 | 7 |
| December 15 | 0 |
| December 16 | 0 |
| December 17 | 0 |
| December 18 | 0 |
| December 19 | 0 |
| December 20 | 0 |
| December 21 | 1 |
| December 22 | 0 |
| December 23 | 0 |
| December 24 | 0 |
| December 25 | 0 |
| December 26 | 19 |
| December 27 | 2 |
| December 28 | 0 |
| December 29 | 0 |
| December 30 | 0 |
| December 31 | 0 |
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 | 23 |
|---|---|
| IL | 17 |
| OH | 8 |
| AR | 4 |
| LA | 3 |
| TN | 2 |
| AL | 1 |
| GA | 1 |
| MD | 1 |
| MS | 1 |
| # | State | Reports | Share | Largest |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Texas | 23 | 37.7% | 2 in |
| 2 | Illinois | 17 | 27.9% | 1.75 in |
| 3 | Ohio | 8 | 13.1% | 1.25 in |
| 4 | Arkansas | 4 | 6.6% | 1.5 in |
| 5 | Louisiana | 3 | 4.9% | 1.25 in |
| 6 | Tennessee | 2 | 3.3% | 1 in |
| 7 | Alabama | 1 | 1.6% | 1 in |
| 8 | Georgia | 1 | 1.6% | 1 in |
| 9 | Maryland | 1 | 1.6% | 1 in |
| 10 | Mississippi | 1 | 1.6% | 1 in |
| # | County | Reports | Largest |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Hamilton County, OH | 8 | 1.25 in |
| 2 | Randall County, TX | 3 | 1 in |
| 3 | Smith County, TX | 3 | 1 in |
| 4 | Christian County, IL | 2 | 1 in |
| 5 | Claiborne Parish, LA | 2 | 1.25 in |
| 6 | Kinney County, TX | 2 | 2 in |
| 7 | Macoupin County, IL | 2 | 1.75 in |
| 8 | Peoria County, IL | 2 | 1.75 in |
| 9 | Williamson County, TX | 2 | 0.88 in |
| 10 | Andrews County, TX | 1 | 1 in |
County names link to the full hail history where we have published that county. The CSV below lists all 44 counties and all 10 states.
How December 2018 compares
| Compared with | Reports | December 2018 was |
|---|---|---|
| November 2018 | 31 | +30 (+97%) |
| December 2017 | 21 | +40 (+190%) |
| the average December in the other 11 years | 50 | +11 (+22%) |
December 2018 was the 5th busiest December of the 12 in the record and the 121st busiest of all 150 months.
| 2014 | 63 |
|---|---|
| 2015 | 91 |
| 2016 | 24 |
| 2017 | 21 |
| 2018 | 61 |
| 2019 | 39 |
| 2020 | 6 |
| 2021 | 123 |
| 2022 | 20 |
| 2023 | 101 |
| 2024 | 58 |
| 2025 | 2 |
Every December in the record, 2014 to 2025. 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.