Delaware hail

Every recorded hail report since 1955 · 3 counties with a record

NOAA's Storm Events Database records 159 hail reports in Delaware from 1955 through June 30, 2026, about 4.9 a year since 2000. The costliest was the June 13, 2009 hail ($413,000 in 2025 dollars). Delaware ranks 47th of 52 states and territories by count and 37th of 51 per square mile.

Hail in Delaware, 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: 1591955 to June 30, 2026
A year since 2000: 4.9average
Deaths: 00 injuries
Damage, 2025 dollars: $618Kas filed
Busiest year: 201920 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 Delaware?

Delaware averages about 4.9 hail reports a year since 2000, 47th of 52 states and territories by count. The busiest year on record was 2019 (20). Per 10,000 square miles of land, Delaware records 816 hail reports since 1955, 37th of 51 states and territories by that measure.

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 Delaware have the most hail reports?

Per square mile, New Castle County leads Delaware: 48 days with a hail report since 1955, 112.6 per 1,000 square miles of land. By raw count, New Castle County has the most hail records (73 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).

New Castle County 112.6 (73)
Kent County 49.5 (36)
Sussex County 42.7 (48)

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 Delaware?

54% of its hail reports since 1955 fell in May and June. The busiest month is June (49 records).

The values, month by month

Jan 0 · Feb 1 · Mar 4 · Apr 24 · May 37 · Jun 49 · Jul 17 · Aug 18 · Sep 8 · Oct 1 · Nov 0 · Dec 0 (records).

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

The costliest hail reports in Delaware

Delaware: the most damaging storms since 1993, 2025 dollars
Date	Record	Character	Killed	Injured	Damage
2009-06-13	HailGreenwood, Sussex County	1.00 in hail	0	0	$413K

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 Delaware?

Delaware'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: Delaware and the United States by decade (2020s to June 30, 2026)
Decade	Delaware	United States	Delaware's share
1955-59	0	2,477	0
1960s	6	7,651	0.08%
1970s	9	11,007	0.08%
1980s	12	26,555	0.05%
1990s	14	75,581	0.02%
2000s	37	137,396	0.03%
2010s	58	107,281	0.05%
2020-26	23	56,491	0.04%

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database.

The most recent hail reports in Delaware

The 6 most recent records, to June 30, 2026
Date	Record	Character	Damage
2025-05-16	HailMillsboro, Sussex County	1.75 in hail	–
2022-05-16	HailPepper, Sussex County	2.25 in hail	–
2022-05-16	HailPepper, Sussex County	2.00 in hail	–
2014-05-22	HailHarnous Corner, New Castle County	2.50 in hail	–
2009-06-13	HailGreenwood, Sussex County	1.00 in hail	$413K
1976-06-30	HailSussex County	2.00 in hail	–

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 Delaware

FEMA files hail and wind disasters under the incident type Severe Storm: 4 declarations in Delaware, 4 of them major disasters; the latest on July 5, 2006.

The 12 most recent
Declared	Number	Title	Areas named
2006-07-05	DR-1654	Severe Storms and Flooding	1
2004-11-15	DR-1572	Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding From the Remnants of	1
1998-02-13	DR-1205	Severe Winter Storms, High Winds, and Flooding	1
1994-03-16	DR-1017	Severe Ice Storms and Flooding	2

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