NOAA Storm Events · August 2020
Hail in August 2020: 974 NOAA reports across 41 states
NOAA logged 974 hail reports in August 2020, in 410 counties across 41 states. Minnesota had the most (118). The largest stone was 4.5 inches (a softball), near Pactola Reservoir in Pennington County, South Dakota, on August 8, 2020. The worst day was August 16, 2020, with 103 reports in 6 states.
- Where
- 410 counties in 41 states; Minnesota had 12% of the reports
- Largest stone
- 4.5 inches, a softball, in Pennington County, SD (near Pactola Reservoir), on August 8, 2020
- Worst day
- August 16, 2020: 103 reports in 6 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
August 16, 2020 was the worst day with 103 reports. A day with hail averaged 31.
| August 1 | 14 |
|---|---|
| August 2 | 9 |
| August 3 | 16 |
| August 4 | 51 |
| August 5 | 44 |
| August 6 | 30 |
| August 7 | 22 |
| August 8 | 47 |
| August 9 | 46 |
| August 10 | 89 |
| August 11 | 28 |
| August 12 | 7 |
| August 13 | 35 |
| August 14 | 79 |
| August 15 | 51 |
| August 16 | 103 |
| August 17 | 8 |
| August 18 | 5 |
| August 19 | 22 |
| August 20 | 11 |
| August 21 | 13 |
| August 22 | 13 |
| August 23 | 33 |
| August 24 | 33 |
| August 25 | 18 |
| August 26 | 29 |
| August 27 | 26 |
| August 28 | 19 |
| August 29 | 19 |
| August 30 | 18 |
| August 31 | 36 |
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.
| MN | 118 |
|---|---|
| CO | 112 |
| SD | 96 |
| NE | 92 |
| KS | 88 |
| ND | 70 |
| TX | 61 |
| OK | 58 |
| WI | 33 |
| NY | 18 |
| # | State | Reports | Share | Largest |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Minnesota | 118 | 12.1% | 2.75 in |
| 2 | Colorado | 112 | 11.5% | 2.5 in |
| 3 | South Dakota | 96 | 9.9% | 4.5 in |
| 4 | Nebraska | 92 | 9.4% | 3.25 in |
| 5 | Kansas | 88 | 9.0% | 4 in |
| 6 | North Dakota | 70 | 7.2% | 3.75 in |
| 7 | Texas | 61 | 6.3% | 2 in |
| 8 | Oklahoma | 58 | 6.0% | 2.75 in |
| 9 | Wisconsin | 33 | 3.4% | 1.5 in |
| 10 | New York | 18 | 1.8% | 2 in |
| # | County | Reports | Largest |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | El Paso County, CO | 33 | 2 in |
| 2 | Cleveland County, OK | 22 | 2 in |
| 3 | Weld County, CO | 22 | 2 in |
| 4 | Yuma County, CO | 15 | 2 in |
| 5 | Hubbard County, MN | 14 | 1.75 in |
| 6 | Pennington County, SD | 14 | 4.5 in |
| 7 | Potter County, TX | 12 | 2 in |
| 8 | Hennepin County, MN | 10 | 2.5 in |
| 9 | Cherokee County, KS | 9 | 2.5 in |
| 10 | Duval County, FL | 9 | 2 in |
County names link to the full hail history where we have published that county. The CSV below lists all 410 counties and all 41 states.
How August 2020 compares
| Compared with | Reports | August 2020 was |
|---|---|---|
| July 2020 | 1,392 | -418 (-30%) |
| August 2019 | 1,287 | -313 (-24%) |
| the average August in the other 11 years | 767 | +207 (+27%) |
August 2020 was the 3rd busiest August of the 12 in the record and the 50th busiest of all 150 months.
| 2014 | 768 |
|---|---|
| 2015 | 1022 |
| 2016 | 568 |
| 2017 | 769 |
| 2018 | 863 |
| 2019 | 1287 |
| 2020 | 974 |
| 2021 | 735 |
| 2022 | 378 |
| 2023 | 920 |
| 2024 | 636 |
| 2025 | 494 |
Every August in the record, 2014 to 2025. Months after June 2026 are not in NOAA's file yet.
Quote this
Free to quote with credit under CC BY 4.0. Copy the sentence and the citation together.
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.