PlainHazard

Colorado hail

Every recorded hail report since 1955 · 62 counties with a record

NOAA's Storm Events Database records 15,490 hail reports in Colorado from 1955 through June 30, 2026, about 436 a year since 2000. The costliest was the May 8, 2017 hail ($2.8 billion in 2025 dollars). Colorado ranks 9th of 52 states and territories by count and 25th of 51 per square mile.

Hail in Colorado, 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
15,4901955 to June 30, 2026
A year since 2000
436average
Deaths
0221 injuries
Damage, 2025 dollars
$6.5Bas filed
Busiest year
2023769 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 Colorado?

Colorado averages about 436 hail reports a year since 2000, 9th of 52 states and territories by count. The busiest year on record was 2023 (769). Per 10,000 square miles of land, Colorado records 1495 hail reports since 1955, 25th 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. 25. Colorado 1495

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 Colorado have the most hail reports?

Per square mile, Denver County leads Colorado: 155 days with a hail report since 1955, 1012.6 per 1,000 square miles of land. By raw count, El Paso County has the most hail records (1,911 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. Denver County 1012.6 (350)
  2. Arapahoe County 325.9 (601)
  3. El Paso County 272.3 (1,911)
  4. Jefferson County 256.4 (528)
  5. Douglas County 249.7 (435)
  6. Boulder County 203.7 (356)
  7. Adams County 193.7 (502)
  8. Sedgwick County 189.8 (182)
  9. Phillips County 186.1 (224)
  10. Kit Carson County 171.7 (873)
  11. Morgan County 171.0 (508)
  12. Yuma County 164.1 (1,046)

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 Colorado?

56% of its hail reports since 1955 fell in June and July. The busiest month is June (5,332 records).

The values, month by month

Jan 0 · Feb 3 · Mar 51 · Apr 598 · May 2,978 · Jun 5,332 · Jul 3,393 · Aug 2,415 · Sep 613 · Oct 107 · Nov 0 · Dec 0 (records).

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

The costliest hail reports in Colorado

Colorado: the most damaging storms since 1993, 2025 dollars
DateRecordCharacterKilledInjuredDamage
2017-05-08 HailEdgewater, Jefferson County One storm episode: 9 records in 3 places; the totals are the episode's. 2.75 in hail 0 0 $2.8B
2009-07-20 HailColumbine, Jefferson County One storm episode: 4 records in 3 places; the totals are the episode's. 1.25 in hail 0 0 $487M
2018-06-19 HailEnglewood, Arapahoe County One storm episode: 12 records in 6 places; the totals are the episode's. 3.00 in hail 0 0 $325M
2014-09-29 HailCentennial Airport, Arapahoe County 1.75 in hail 0 0 $266M
2004-06-09 HailDenver County One storm episode: 2 records in 2 places; the totals are the episode's. 0.75 in hail 0 0 $229M
1996-05-22 HailThornton, Adams County 1.25 in hail 0 0 $226M
2009-06-07 HailAurora Cherry Creek, Arapahoe County One storm episode: 4 records; the totals are the episode's. 3.00 in hail 0 0 $221M
2011-07-13 HailWatkins, Adams County One storm episode: 2 records in 2 places; the totals are the episode's. 4.50 in hail 0 2 $216M

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 Colorado?

Colorado'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: Colorado and the United States by decade (2020s to June 30, 2026)
DecadeColoradoUnited StatesColorado's share
1955-59962,4773.9%
1960s1977,6512.6%
1970s31811,0072.9%
1980s90326,5553.4%
1990s2,40375,5813.2%
2000s4,480137,3963.3%
2010s4,388107,2814.1%
2020-262,70556,4914.8%

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database.

The most recent hail reports in Colorado

The 12 most recent records, to June 30, 2026
DateRecordCharacterKilledInjuredDamage
2026-06-30 HailBonny Lake, Yuma County 1.00 in hail 0 0 –
2026-06-30 HailSterling Airport, Logan County 1.00 in hail 0 0 –
2026-06-30 HailCrook, Logan County 1.25 in hail 0 0 –
2026-06-30 HailPeetz, Logan County 1.00 in hail 0 0 –
2026-06-26 HailCheyenne Wells, Cheyenne County 1.50 in hail 0 0 –
2026-06-26 HailNorthglenn, Adams County 1.00 in hail 0 0 –
2026-06-26 HailFederal Hgt, Adams County 1.00 in hail 0 0 –
2026-06-26 HailBroomfield, Jefferson County 1.00 in hail 0 0 –
2026-06-24 HailArickaree, Washington County 1.00 in hail 0 0 –
2026-06-24 HailMorrison, Jefferson County 1.00 in hail 0 0 –
2026-06-24 HailMorrison, Jefferson County 1.00 in hail 0 0 –
2026-06-24 HailBergen Park, Jefferson County 1.00 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 Colorado

FEMA files hail and wind disasters under the incident type Severe Storm: 3 declarations in Colorado, 3 of them major disasters; the latest on May 26, 2008.

The 12 most recent
DeclaredNumberTitleAreas named
2008-05-26DR-1762Severe Storms and Tornadoes2
2001-05-17DR-1374Severe Winter Storms14
1999-05-17DR-1276Co-Flooding 4/30/9912

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

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