Data story · updated November 4, 2026

2026 hail year in review

Name: 2026 hail year in review
Creator: Moxisync Labs
License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

How this year's hail compares with the previous ten years: reports, hail days, big hail, the worst states and the biggest days.

Hail year in review

Reports, Jan 1–Nov 3: 7,510; -13% vs 2016–2025 average (8,666)
Hail days: 216; -3% vs average (222)
Largest hail: 6.60 in; 0.52 SSW West Kankakee, IL · Mar 10, 2026

Chart

2026 final (NCEI)
2026 preliminary (NWS)
2016–2025 average

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database and NWS Local Storm Reports (IEM). Chart: Hail History.

What the data shows

From January 1 to November 3, 2026, the US logged 7,510 hail reports on 216 separate days. The average for the same stretch of 2016–2025 is 8,666 reports on 222 days, so this year is running below average on reports and below on hail days. Reports of 2 in or larger: 973 (average 847).

Texas had the most reports (821), followed by Kansas and Oklahoma. The biggest single day was April 27, 2026, with 280 reports across 12 states. The largest stone was 6.60 in (softball) near 0.52 SSW West Kankakee, IL on March 10, 2026.

The numbers

2026 hail year in review. Select a column heading to sort.

Texas	821	78	5.00 in
Kansas	671	64	4.00 in
Oklahoma	549	50	3.75 in
Illinois	496	36	6.60 in
Minnesota	440	38	4.00 in
Nebraska	437	64	3.50 in
Missouri	411	33	4.75 in
Wisconsin	404	32	4.50 in
South Dakota	385	48	4.50 in
Iowa	342	41	3.50 in
Colorado	335	42	4.50 in
Ohio	217	25	2.25 in
Indiana	203	30	3.00 in
Arkansas	161	26	4.50 in
North Dakota	158	32	4.00 in

Largest hail of 2026

Date	Size	Where
Mar 10, 2026	6.60 in	0.52 SSW West Kankakee, IL
Mar 10, 2026	6.10 in	0.87 SE Kankakee, IL
Mar 10, 2026	6.00 in	1.25 ESE Kankakee, IL
Mar 10, 2026	5.50 in	Campus, IL
Mar 10, 2026	5.20 in	0.69 S Kankakee Airport, IL
Mar 10, 2026	5.20 in	0.69 S Kankakee Airport, IL
Apr 29, 2026	5.00 in	2.16 SSE Camp Wood, TX
Mar 10, 2026	5.00 in	1.56 E Cardiff, IL
Mar 10, 2026	5.00 in	1.73 NW Buckingham, IL
Mar 10, 2026	4.80 in	Darien, IL

Biggest hail days of 2026

Date	Reports	States
Apr 27, 2026	280	AR, IA, IL, IN, KS, KY, MO, MS, OK, TN, TX, WI
Mar 10, 2026	267	IA, IL, IN, KS, MI, OK, TX, WI
Apr 28, 2026	241	AL, AR, KS, LA, MO, MS, OK, TN, TX
Apr 14, 2026	220	IA, IL, IN, KS, MN, NE, NH, OH, OK, PA, TX, WI
Apr 17, 2026	196	IA, IL, KS, MN, MO, OK, WI
Apr 13, 2026	187	IA, IL, IN, KS, MI, MN, OH, SD, TX, WI
Apr 15, 2026	171	IA, IL, IN, KS, MO, NE, OH, OK, PA, TX, WI
Apr 25, 2026	163	AR, KS, MO, NE, OK, TX
Apr 26, 2026	149	AR, CO, KS, LA, MO, MS, OK, TX
May 8, 2026	147	AR, FL, LA, MO, MS, OK, TX

Download the data

The full table as CSV, free to reuse with credit.

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Cite this

Hail History (Moxisync Labs). "2026 hail year in review." Data: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database and NWS Local Storm Reports via the Iowa Environmental Mesonet, to November 3, 2026. https://hail.moxisynclabs.com/stories/hail-year-in-review/

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<p><a href="https://hail.moxisynclabs.com/stories/hail-year-in-review/">2026 hail year in review</a> · Hail History, NOAA data</p>

Free to republish with a link to this page. Every city, county and state page has the same numbers for a local angle.

Method and caveats

NOAA's final Storm Events data runs to July 31, 2026; later months use preliminary NWS Local Storm Reports (lighter bars), which are counted differently and will be revised.
The year is not over; the comparison uses the same calendar window in each past year.
Source: every hail report in the NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database from 1955 to July 31, 2026, plus preliminary NWS Local Storm Reports via the Iowa Environmental Mesonet to November 3, 2026. Full method.