Stearns County, Minnesota: hail history 2014–2026
By density Stearns County lands #34 of 62 in Minnesota: 61.9 reports per 1,000 square miles from 86 reports. Hail reached 1 inch on 24 days and 1.75 inches on 9. Record: 3.25 inches (a teacup), July 13, 2023 near Belgrade.
- 86reports
- 24days, 1 in+
- 9days, 1.75 in+
- 3.25 inlargest stone
Hail since my roof went on: Stearns County
Year by year
| Year | Reports | Days 1 in+ | Days 1.75 in+ | Largest |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0.88 in |
| 2015 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 1.5 in |
| 2016 | 11 | 4 | 1 | 1.75 in |
| 2017 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 1 in |
| 2018 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 2 in |
| 2019 | 8 | 2 | 2 | 2 in |
| 2020 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 1.25 in |
| 2021 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 1.5 in |
| 2022 | 22 | 4 | 2 | 2 in |
| 2023 | 12 | 2 | 2 | 3.25 in |
| 2024 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1.25 in |
| 2025 | 10 | 3 | 1 | 2 in |
2022 was the busiest year (22 reports) and 2014 the quietest (2). Stearns County averaged 9 reports a year from 2020 to 2025, 69% above the 5 of 2014 to 2019. Days with 1-inch stones average 2 per full year.
Stearns County: reports by month
| Jan | 0 |
|---|---|
| Feb | 0 |
| Mar | 3 |
| Apr | 7 |
| May | 23 |
| Jun | 16 |
| Jul | 27 |
| Aug | 3 |
| Sep | 7 |
| Oct | 0 |
| Nov | 0 |
| Dec | 0 |
July dominates the calendar: 27 of 86 reports, 31%. May to July alone bring 77%. 3 of 86 reports fell outside April to September.
Largest stone: 3.25 inches
Reported hail locations, Stearns County
- 441 to 1.74 in
- 211.75 to 2.74 in, golf ball to tennis ball
- 12.75 in and up, baseball
Largest plotted stone: 3.25 in. Bigger dots are bigger stones.
66 reports of 1 inch or larger have coordinates. Each dot is a reported location, not a storm path.
Sources: NOAA, Census county outlineStearns County’s ten biggest hail days
| Date | Size | Reports | Place |
|---|---|---|---|
| July 13, 2023 | 3.25 in, a teacup | 8 | Belgrade |
| May 12, 2022 | 2 in, a hen egg | 14 | Collegeville |
| July 26, 2019 | 2 in, a hen egg | 6 | St Cloud |
| May 9, 2022 | 2 in, a hen egg | 5 | St Cloud |
| July 18, 2025 | 2 in, a hen egg | 5 | St Augusta |
| May 28, 2018 | 2 in, a hen egg | 1 | Avon |
| June 17, 2016 | 1.75 in, a golf ball | 5 | Cold Spg |
| September 2, 2019 | 1.75 in, a golf ball | 2 | Brooten |
| July 19, 2023 | 1.75 in, a golf ball | 2 | Farming |
| June 9, 2015 | 1.5 in, a ping-pong ball | 3 | Spring Hill |
“A swath of large hail developed near St. Cloud, where numerous hail stones up to golf ball size were reported. These hail stones rose to the diameter of 4 near Clear Lake.”
NWS report, July 26, 2019
“Although scattered thunderstorms developed south and north of this main supercell storm, this storm in particular was the main producing of large hail, up to baseball size, that fell from shortly after sunrise in far west-central Minnesota, to east-central Minnesota, north of the Twin Cities, by 10 ”
NWS report, May 9, 2022
Tornadoes and wind in Stearns County
12 tornadoes on record in Stearns County; the strongest listed is EF1, 8.18 miles long, near Elrosa. Top gust: 81 mph near Belgrade.
| Date | Rating | Path length | Width | Near |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| September 19, 2017 | EF1 | 8.18 mi | 360 yd | Elrosa |
| August 3, 2024 | EF1 | 5.36 mi | 1000 yd | Melrose |
| July 11, 2016 | EF1 | 4 mi | 250 yd | St Nicholas |
| May 25, 2016 | EF0 | 3.3 mi | 25 yd | St Anthony |
| May 15, 2025 | EF0 | 2.77 mi | 50 yd | Spring Hill |
| June 3, 2016 | EF0 | 2.31 mi | 50 yd | Spring Hill |
| August 20, 2021 | EF0 | 2.12 mi | 50 yd | Belgrade |
| August 28, 2021 | EF0 | 2.07 mi | 25 yd | Farming |
| Date | Gust | Near |
|---|---|---|
| September 19, 2017 | 81 mph | Belgrade |
| September 19, 2017 | 79 mph | Brooten |
| September 19, 2017 | 78 mph | Greenwald |
| September 19, 2017 | 75 mph | Brooten |
| September 20, 2017 | 75 mph | St Rosa |
| September 19, 2017 | 75 mph | Elrosa |
Homes in Stearns County
Median build year in Stearns County: 1984. 72.7% of 66,211 homes predate 2000. Houses permitted since 2014: 4,526, or 68.4 per 1,000 homes. Busiest year: 2021.
| pre-1940 | 11.4% |
|---|---|
| 1940s | 4.1% |
| 1950s | 5.8% |
| 1960s | 8.8% |
| 1970s | 14.5% |
| 1980s | 12.9% |
| 1990s | 15.2% |
| 2000s | 17.1% |
| 2010s | 9.4% |
| 2020+ | 0.8% |
| Year | Houses | All units |
|---|---|---|
| 2014 | 305 | 479 |
| 2015 | 299 | 693 |
| 2016 | 374 | 890 |
| 2017 | 419 | 724 |
| 2018 | 430 | 543 |
| 2019 | 409 | 488 |
| 2020 | 420 | 498 |
| 2021 | 433 | 532 |
| 2022 | 346 | 611 |
| 2023 | 364 | 618 |
| 2024 | 356 | 572 |
| 2025 | 371 | 648 |
Quick answers
How many hail reports has Stearns County had?
NOAA logged 86 hail reports in Stearns County, Minnesota, from 2014 to 2025.
How many days had hail of 1 inch or larger in Stearns County?
24 days, including 9 days with hail of 1.75 inches or larger. The National Weather Service calls hail of 1 inch or larger severe.
What was the largest hail reported in Stearns County?
3.25 inches (a teacup), reported on July 13, 2023.
Which month has the most hail in Stearns County?
July has the most reports, 31% of the 86 in the record.
Does a hail day in the record mean my roof was damaged?
A counted day only means a spotter reported hail somewhere in the area. An inspection is the only way to know whether a roof was hit.
Next steps for Stearns County
Stearns County cities we cover
Next to Stearns County in the Minnesota ranking
- St. Louis County (239 reports)
- Olmsted County (109 reports)
- Blue Earth County (68 reports)
Cite this page
Data version: NOAA Storm Events hail data, 2014 to June 2026, loaded October 6, 2026. All dataset versions. Download the table as CSV. Free to quote with credit under CC BY 4.0.
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.