PlainHazard

Florida hail

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

NOAA's Storm Events Database records 5,668 hail reports in Florida from 1955 through June 30, 2026, about 143 a year since 2000. The costliest was the March 30, 1996 hail ($45.2 million in 2025 dollars). Florida ranks 27th of 52 states and territories by count and 35th of 51 per square mile.

Hail in Florida, 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
5,6681955 to June 30, 2026
A year since 2000
143average
Deaths
08 injuries
Damage, 2025 dollars
$96Mas filed
Busiest year
1999317 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 Florida?

Florida averages about 143 hail reports a year since 2000, 27th of 52 states and territories by count. The busiest year on record was 1999 (317). Per 10,000 square miles of land, Florida records 1056 hail reports since 1955, 35th 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. 35. Florida 1056

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 Florida have the most hail reports?

Per square mile, Pinellas County leads Florida: 95 days with a hail report since 1955, 347.0 per 1,000 square miles of land. By raw count, Hillsborough County has the most hail records (287 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. Pinellas County 347.0 (112)
  2. Seminole County 245.7 (135)
  3. Duval County 238.7 (286)
  4. Hillsborough County 214.2 (287)
  5. Orange County 203.8 (276)
  6. Flagler County 174.8 (117)
  7. Clay County 142.2 (120)
  8. St. Johns County 136.5 (121)
  9. Leon County 131.7 (139)
  10. Brevard County 131.0 (236)
  11. Volusia County 126.2 (189)
  12. Lee County 122.9 (122)

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 Florida?

45% of its hail reports since 1955 fell in May and June. The busiest month is May (1,312 records).

The values, month by month

Jan 90 · Feb 286 · Mar 738 · Apr 714 · May 1,312 · Jun 1,232 · Jul 731 · Aug 375 · Sep 112 · Oct 42 · Nov 22 · Dec 14 (records).

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

The costliest hail reports in Florida

Florida: the most damaging storms since 1993, 2025 dollars
DateRecordCharacterKilledInjuredDamage
1996-03-30 HailLake Wales, Polk County 4.50 in hail 0 0 $45M
1996-05-04 HailTampa, Hillsborough County 1.50 in hail 0 0 $29M
1996-05-04 HailBradenton, Manatee County 1.50 in hail 0 0 $5.6M
2005-03-26 HailMilton, Santa Rosa County 2.75 in hail 0 0 $3.8M
1996-03-30 HailLakeland, Polk County 1.75 in hail 0 0 $2.8M
2007-05-06 HailBelle Glade, Palm Beach County 1.00 in hail 0 0 $1.1M
2013-02-24 HailFallschase, Leon County 1.75 in hail 0 0 $912K
1999-05-10 HailBrandon, Hillsborough County 1.75 in hail 0 0 $886K

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 Florida?

Florida'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: Florida and the United States by decade (2020s to June 30, 2026)
DecadeFloridaUnited StatesFlorida's share
1955-59202,4770.8%
1960s1377,6511.8%
1970s18811,0071.7%
1980s25126,5550.9%
1990s1,33975,5811.8%
2000s1,996137,3961.5%
2010s1,141107,2811.1%
2020-2659656,4911.1%

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database.

The most recent hail reports in Florida

The 12 most recent records, to June 30, 2026
DateRecordCharacterKilledInjuredDamage
2026-06-30 HailNettle Ridge, Calhoun County 1.00 in hail 0 0 –
2026-06-24 HailWellington, Palm Beach County 1.00 in hail 0 0 –
2026-06-02 HailGlencoe, Volusia County 1.00 in hail 0 0 –
2026-05-17 HailWilliford, Gilchrist County 0.88 in hail 0 0 –
2026-05-12 HailJamestown, Seminole County 1.00 in hail 0 0 –
2026-05-12 HailLake Charm, Seminole County 1.00 in hail 0 0 –
2026-05-10 HailWilber By The Sea, Volusia County 1.50 in hail 0 0 –
2026-05-08 HailBlake, Volusia County 1.00 in hail 0 0 –
2026-05-08 HailCallahan, Nassau County 0.88 in hail 0 0 –
2026-05-07 HailPaxton, Walton County 1.00 in hail 0 0 –
2026-03-16 HailBrent, Escambia County 1.00 in hail 0 0 –
2026-03-16 HailKillearn Estates, Leon 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 Florida

FEMA files hail and wind disasters under the incident type Severe Storm: 24 declarations in Florida, 22 of them major disasters; the latest on June 17, 2024.

The 12 most recent
DeclaredNumberTitleAreas named
2024-06-17DR-4794Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, and Tornadoes13
2021-07-04EM-3561Tropical Storm Elsa37
2014-05-06DR-4177Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Straight-Line Winds, and Flooding9
2013-08-02DR-4138Severe Storms and Flooding4
2012-07-03DR-4068Tropical Storm Debby34
2009-05-27DR-1840Severe Storms, Flooding, Tornadoes, and Straight-Line Winds5
2009-04-21DR-1831Severe Storms, Flooding, Tornadoes, and Straight-Line Winds23
2008-08-24DR-1785Tropical Storm Fay44
2008-08-21EM-3288Tropical Storm Fay67
2007-02-08DR-1680Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding1
2007-02-03DR-1679Severe Storms and Tornadoes4
2003-07-29DR-1481Severe Storms and Flooding11

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

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