NOAA Storm Events · May 2023
Hail in May 2023: 1,769 NOAA reports across 33 states
NOAA logged 1,769 hail reports in May 2023, in 598 counties across 33 states. Texas had the most (347). The largest stone was 4.5 inches (a softball), near Table Rock in Pawnee County, Nebraska, on May 12, 2023. The worst day was May 7, 2023, with 321 reports in 13 states.
- Where
- 598 counties in 33 states; Texas had 20% of the reports
- Largest stone
- 4.5 inches, a softball, in Pawnee County, NE (near Table Rock), on May 12, 2023
- Worst day
- May 7, 2023: 321 reports in 13 states, 18% 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 7, 2023 was the worst day with 321 reports. A day with hail averaged 57.
| May 1 | 1 |
|---|---|
| May 2 | 4 |
| May 3 | 10 |
| May 4 | 20 |
| May 5 | 69 |
| May 6 | 132 |
| May 7 | 321 |
| May 8 | 103 |
| May 9 | 214 |
| May 10 | 103 |
| May 11 | 49 |
| May 12 | 81 |
| May 13 | 19 |
| May 14 | 21 |
| May 15 | 9 |
| May 16 | 45 |
| May 17 | 18 |
| May 18 | 26 |
| May 19 | 46 |
| May 20 | 8 |
| May 21 | 11 |
| May 22 | 36 |
| May 23 | 44 |
| May 24 | 63 |
| May 25 | 39 |
| May 26 | 69 |
| May 27 | 42 |
| May 28 | 41 |
| May 29 | 35 |
| May 30 | 64 |
| May 31 | 26 |
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 | 347 |
|---|---|
| KS | 196 |
| IA | 146 |
| NE | 135 |
| CO | 126 |
| MO | 119 |
| NM | 100 |
| IL | 93 |
| OK | 74 |
| SD | 67 |
| # | State | Reports | Share | Largest |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Texas | 347 | 19.6% | 3.3 in |
| 2 | Kansas | 196 | 11.1% | 4 in |
| 3 | Iowa | 146 | 8.3% | 2.75 in |
| 4 | Nebraska | 135 | 7.6% | 4.5 in |
| 5 | Colorado | 126 | 7.1% | 4 in |
| 6 | Missouri | 119 | 6.7% | 4 in |
| 7 | New Mexico | 100 | 5.7% | 3.5 in |
| 8 | Illinois | 93 | 5.3% | 3.25 in |
| 9 | Oklahoma | 74 | 4.2% | 2.75 in |
| 10 | South Dakota | 67 | 3.8% | 2.75 in |
| # | County | Reports | Largest |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sangamon County, IL | 28 | 3.25 in |
| 2 | Curry County, NM | 27 | 2.05 in |
| 3 | Pennington County, SD | 25 | 1.75 in |
| 4 | Arapahoe County, CO | 23 | 2.5 in |
| 5 | Brown County, TX | 23 | 3.25 in |
| 6 | Quay County, NM | 20 | 3.5 in |
| 7 | Burnet County, TX | 17 | 3.25 in |
| 8 | Adams County, CO | 16 | 2.75 in |
| 9 | Story County, IA | 15 | 2.5 in |
| 10 | Jasper County, IA | 13 | 2.75 in |
County names link to the full hail history where we have published that county. The CSV below lists all 598 counties and all 33 states.
How May 2023 compares
| Compared with | Reports | May 2023 was |
|---|---|---|
| April 2023 | 2,022 | -253 (-13%) |
| May 2022 | 2,283 | -514 (-23%) |
| the average May in the other 12 years | 2,139 | -370 (-17%) |
May 2023 was the 9th busiest May of the 13 in the record and the 20th 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.