NOAA Storm Events · May 2020
Hail in May 2020: 1,489 NOAA reports across 35 states
NOAA logged 1,489 hail reports in May 2020, in 512 counties across 35 states. Texas had the most (415). The largest stone was 5.33 inches (a softball), near Burkburnett in Wichita County, Texas, on May 22, 2020. The worst day was May 4, 2020, with 262 reports in 9 states.
- Where
- 512 counties in 35 states; Texas had 28% of the reports
- Largest stone
- 5.33 inches, a softball, in Wichita County, TX (near Burkburnett), on May 22, 2020
- Worst day
- May 4, 2020: 262 reports in 9 states, 18% of the month
- Days with hail
- 28 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 4, 2020 was the worst day with 262 reports. A day with hail averaged 53.
| May 1 | 0 |
|---|---|
| May 2 | 8 |
| May 3 | 110 |
| May 4 | 262 |
| May 5 | 48 |
| May 6 | 0 |
| May 7 | 67 |
| May 8 | 21 |
| May 9 | 0 |
| May 10 | 8 |
| May 11 | 29 |
| May 12 | 2 |
| May 13 | 33 |
| May 14 | 48 |
| May 15 | 82 |
| May 16 | 7 |
| May 17 | 5 |
| May 18 | 4 |
| May 19 | 14 |
| May 20 | 59 |
| May 21 | 112 |
| May 22 | 115 |
| May 23 | 117 |
| May 24 | 115 |
| May 25 | 17 |
| May 26 | 30 |
| May 27 | 115 |
| May 28 | 21 |
| May 29 | 3 |
| May 30 | 27 |
| May 31 | 10 |
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 | 415 |
|---|---|
| KS | 201 |
| OK | 185 |
| MO | 89 |
| AR | 62 |
| SC | 58 |
| SD | 56 |
| FL | 51 |
| CO | 46 |
| MT | 43 |
| # | State | Reports | Share | Largest |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Texas | 415 | 27.9% | 5.33 in |
| 2 | Kansas | 201 | 13.5% | 3 in |
| 3 | Oklahoma | 185 | 12.4% | 4 in |
| 4 | Missouri | 89 | 6.0% | 2.75 in |
| 5 | Arkansas | 62 | 4.2% | 5 in |
| 6 | South Carolina | 58 | 3.9% | 3 in |
| 7 | South Dakota | 56 | 3.8% | 2.75 in |
| 8 | Florida | 51 | 3.4% | 3 in |
| 9 | Colorado | 46 | 3.1% | 2.75 in |
| 10 | Montana | 43 | 2.9% | 2.5 in |
| # | County | Reports | Largest |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bexar County, TX | 27 | 2.5 in |
| 2 | Cleveland County, OK | 20 | 3.41 in |
| 3 | Tom Green County, TX | 19 | 4 in |
| 4 | Meade County, SD | 17 | 1.75 in |
| 5 | Wichita County, TX | 17 | 5.33 in |
| 6 | Seminole County, FL | 15 | 3 in |
| 7 | Comanche County, OK | 14 | 1.75 in |
| 8 | Saline County, KS | 14 | 2 in |
| 9 | Tillman County, OK | 14 | 4 in |
| 10 | Custer County, MT | 13 | 2.5 in |
County names link to the full hail history where we have published that county. The CSV below lists all 512 counties and all 35 states.
How May 2020 compares
| Compared with | Reports | May 2020 was |
|---|---|---|
| April 2020 | 1,547 | -58 (-4%) |
| May 2019 | 2,370 | -881 (-37%) |
| the average May in the other 12 years | 2,162 | -673 (-31%) |
May 2020 was the 10th busiest May of the 13 in the record and the 26th 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.