PlainHazard

Alabama hail

Every recorded hail report since 1955 · 67 counties with a record

NOAA's Storm Events Database records 8,096 hail reports in Alabama from 1955 through June 30, 2026, about 210 a year since 2000. The costliest was the April 25, 2003 hail ($4.4 million in 2025 dollars). Alabama ranks 19th of 52 states and territories by count and 21st of 51 per square mile.

Hail in Alabama, 1955 to 2026

Hail records per year (NOAA Storm Events); 2026 to June 30, 2026. NOAA recorded every event type only from 1996.

  • recorded, no damage figure
  • under $1 million
  • $1 million or more
  • $10 million or more
  • $100 million or more, or 10 deaths
  • $1 billion or more, or 100 deaths
  • a year's colour: its recorded damage or deaths
  • a year with a death
  • 1996: all 48 event types recorded from 1996
Records
8,0961955 to June 30, 2026
A year since 2000
210average
Deaths
01 injuries
Damage, 2025 dollars
$38Mas filed
Busiest year
2005490 records

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records through June 30, 2026; deaths and damage as filed, damage in 2025 dollars. Search the record at NCEI.

Are hail reports common in Alabama?

Alabama averages about 210 hail reports a year since 2000, 19th of 52 states and territories by count. The busiest year on record was 2005 (490). Per 10,000 square miles of land, Alabama records 1598 hail reports since 1955, 21st of 51 states and territories by that measure.

  1. 1. Kansas 4920
  2. 2. Oklahoma 4607
  3. 3. Nebraska 3261
  4. 4. Missouri 2974
  5. 5. Iowa 2856
  6. 6. Arkansas 2407
  7. 7. South Dakota 2244
  8. 8. Ohio 2241
  9. 9. South Carolina 2226
  10. 10. Illinois 2221
  11. 21. Alabama 1598

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records since 1955, per 10,000 square miles of land area (Census Bureau 2024 Gazetteer; places under 1,000 square miles not ranked). Damage colours: Storm Events damage, 2025 dollars.

Which counties in Alabama have the most hail reports?

Per square mile, Jefferson County leads Alabama: 267 days with a hail report since 1955, 240.2 per 1,000 square miles of land. By raw count, Jefferson County has the most hail records (490 since 1955); large counties collect more records simply by covering more ground, so the ranking counts days with a record per unit of area (a storm filed for several forecast zones adds several records but one day).

  1. Jefferson County 240.2 (490)
  2. Madison County 217.1 (471)
  3. Cullman County 197.3 (265)
  4. Morgan County 189.8 (198)
  5. Limestone County 177.5 (199)
  6. Marshall County 175.0 (202)
  7. Etowah County 170.0 (134)
  8. Lauderdale County 163.2 (212)
  9. Shelby County 163.0 (196)
  10. Colbert County 150.1 (145)
  11. Lamar County 145.5 (130)
  12. DeKalb County 145.4 (197)

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, days with a record in the county since 1955 per 1,000 square miles of land (Census Bureau 2024 Gazetteer); in brackets, the count of records.

When is hail season in Alabama?

48% of its hail reports since 1955 fell in March and April. The busiest month is April (2,141 records).

The values, month by month

Jan 225 · Feb 414 · Mar 1,770 · Apr 2,141 · May 1,461 · Jun 855 · Jul 447 · Aug 318 · Sep 53 · Oct 135 · Nov 120 · Dec 157 (records).

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records by the month they began, since 1955.

The costliest hail reports in Alabama

Alabama: the most damaging storms since 1993, 2025 dollars
DateRecordCharacterKilledInjuredDamage
2003-04-25 HailJones, Autauga County One storm episode: 4 records in 4 places; the totals are the episode's. 4.50 in hail 0 0 $4.4M
2003-05-02 HailChatom, Washington County 2.50 in hail 0 0 $2.2M
2011-03-26 HailJasper, Walker County One storm episode: 5 records in 3 places; the totals are the episode's. 1.50 in hail 0 0 $2.0M
2011-04-15 HailNaheola, Choctaw County One storm episode: 2 records; the totals are the episode's. 2.75 in hail 0 0 $1.7M
2003-05-02 HailGraysville, Jefferson County 2.75 in hail 0 0 $1.6M
2003-04-25 HailPondville, Bibb County One storm episode: 6 records in 6 places; the totals are the episode's. 4.50 in hail 0 0 $1.4M
1995-05-15 HailCullman To, Cullman County 3.75 in hail 0 0 $1.3M
1994-03-27 HailHeflin, Cleburne County Every hail record filed in the state that day (3, in 2 places; before 1996 NOAA filed no storm episodes); the totals are the day's. 1.75 in hail 0 0 $995K

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database: property and crop damage as estimated by the National Weather Service, in 2025 dollars.

Are hail reports becoming more frequent in Alabama?

Alabama's count per decade against the whole country's, and its share. NOAA recorded every event type only from 1996, so earlier decades are not comparable; the share of the national total is the fairer comparison across decades.

Hail: Alabama and the United States by decade (2020s to June 30, 2026)
DecadeAlabamaUnited StatesAlabama's share
1955-59332,4771.3%
1960s947,6511.2%
1970s24911,0072.3%
1980s54126,5552.0%
1990s1,64675,5812.2%
2000s2,998137,3962.2%
2010s1,655107,2811.5%
2020-2688056,4911.6%

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database.

The most recent hail reports in Alabama

The 12 most recent records, to June 30, 2026
DateRecordCharacterKilledInjuredDamage
2026-06-30 HailDale County Lake, Dale County 0.75 in hail 0 0 –
2026-06-01 HailHanover, Coosa County 1.00 in hail 0 0 –
2026-06-01 HailSouthside, Etowah County 0.88 in hail 0 0 –
2026-05-07 HailOld Spring Hill, Marengo County 0.88 in hail 0 0 –
2026-05-06 HailWhitsitt, Hale County 1.75 in hail 0 0 –
2026-05-06 HailArcola, Hale County 1.50 in hail 0 0 –
2026-05-06 HailForkland, Greene County 2.75 in hail 0 0 –
2026-05-06 HailForkland, Greene County 1.75 in hail 0 0 –
2026-05-06 HailBoligee, Greene County 1.50 in hail 0 0 –
2026-05-06 HailFt Davis, Macon County 1.00 in hail 0 0 –
2026-05-06 HailPike Road, Montgomery County 1.00 in hail 0 0 –
2026-05-06 HailWaugh, Montgomery County 2.75 in hail 0 0 –

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records through June 30, 2026; the newest months are revised by NCEI as reports arrive. Search the record at NCEI.

Federal disaster declarations for hail reports in Alabama

FEMA files hail and wind disasters under the incident type Severe Storm: 45 declarations in Alabama, 44 of them major disasters; the latest on May 5, 2023.

The 12 most recent
DeclaredNumberTitleAreas named
2023-05-05DR-4710Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, and Tornadoes10
2023-01-15DR-4684Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, and Tornadoes13
2021-12-21DR-4632Severe Storms and Flooding2
2021-04-26DR-4596Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, and Tornadoes8
2020-07-10DR-4555Severe Thunderstorms7
2020-07-10DR-4554Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, and Tornadoes10
2020-05-21DR-4546Severe Storms and Flooding19
2019-04-17DR-4426Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, Tornadoes, and Flooding12
2018-04-26DR-4362Severe Storms and Tornadoes4
2016-01-21DR-4251Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Straight-Line Winds, and Flooding39
2014-05-02DR-4176Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Straight-Line Winds, and Flooding21
2012-02-01DR-4052Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Straight-Line Winds, and Flooding3

Source: FEMA OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries (v2), through October 2, 2026. OpenFEMA dataset page.

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