PlainHazard

Massachusetts hail

Every recorded hail report since 1955 · 14 counties with a record

NOAA's Storm Events Database records 1,547 hail reports in Massachusetts from 1955 through June 30, 2026, about 45 a year since 2000. The costliest was the August 4, 2013 hail ($3.8 million in 2025 dollars). Massachusetts ranks 34th of 52 states and territories by count and 14th of 51 per square mile.

Hail in Massachusetts, 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
1,5471955 to June 30, 2026
A year since 2000
45average
Deaths
02 injuries
Damage, 2025 dollars
$4.8Mas filed
Busiest year
2008154 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 Massachusetts?

Massachusetts averages about 45 hail reports a year since 2000, 34th of 52 states and territories by count. The busiest year on record was 2008 (154). Per 10,000 square miles of land, Massachusetts records 1983 hail reports since 1955, 14th 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. 14. Massachusetts 1983

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 Massachusetts have the most hail reports?

Per square mile, Hampden County leads Massachusetts: 123 days with a hail report since 1955, 199.4 per 1,000 square miles of land. By raw count, Worcester County has the most hail records (256 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. Hampden County 199.4 (241)
  2. Hampshire County 161.2 (141)
  3. Essex County 127.9 (98)
  4. Norfolk County 126.2 (82)
  5. Berkshire County 110.0 (177)
  6. Middlesex County 102.7 (183)
  7. Franklin County 91.5 (112)
  8. Worcester County 88.7 (256)
  9. Dukes County 77.5 (10)
  10. Barnstable County 76.1 (49)
  11. Bristol County 74.1 (80)
  12. Plymouth County 68.3 (82)

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 Massachusetts?

55% of its hail reports since 1955 fell in June and July. The busiest month is July (436 records).

The values, month by month

Jan 0 · Feb 3 · Mar 16 · Apr 18 · May 274 · Jun 415 · Jul 436 · Aug 327 · Sep 40 · Oct 6 · Nov 8 · Dec 4 (records).

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

The costliest hail reports in Massachusetts

Massachusetts: the most damaging storms since 1993, 2025 dollars
DateRecordCharacterKilledInjuredDamage
2013-08-04 HailWest Springfield, Hampden County 1.25 in hail 0 0 $3.8M
2006-07-11 HailPeabody, Essex County 3.00 in hail 0 0 $220K
2004-08-20 HailTewksbury, Middlesex County 2.00 in hail 0 0 $78K
2009-05-24 HailGrafton, Worcester County One storm episode: 2 records in 2 places; the totals are the episode's. 2.00 in hail 0 0 $55K
2004-07-02 HailNorwell, Plymouth County 2.00 in hail 0 0 $55K
2001-06-20 HailHousatonic, Berkshire County 2.00 in hail 0 0 $25K
2005-08-03 HailChicopee, Hampden County 2.00 in hail 0 0 $8K
1997-07-03 HailWest Otis, Berkshire County 3.00 in hail 0 0 $7K

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 Massachusetts?

Massachusetts'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: Massachusetts and the United States by decade (2020s to June 30, 2026)
DecadeMassachusettsUnited StatesMassachusetts's share
1955-59212,4770.85%
1960s387,6510.50%
1970s3211,0070.29%
1980s5326,5550.20%
1990s24675,5810.33%
2000s516137,3960.38%
2010s504107,2810.47%
2020-2613756,4910.24%

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database.

The most recent hail reports in Massachusetts

The 12 most recent records, to June 30, 2026
DateRecordCharacterKilledInjuredDamage
2025-09-06 HailSheffield, Berkshire County 1.50 in hail 0 0 –
2025-09-06 HailNorth Ashburnham, Worcester County 1.00 in hail 0 0 –
2025-09-06 HailAldenville, Hampden County 0.75 in hail 0 0 –
2025-09-06 HailSouth Hadley, Hampshire County 0.75 in hail 0 0 –
2025-08-14 HailRockland, Plymouth County 1.50 in hail 0 0 –
2025-06-06 HailWarwick, Franklin County 1.00 in hail 0 0 –
2025-06-06 HailOrange, Franklin County 1.25 in hail 0 0 –
2025-06-06 HailWestfield, Hampden County 1.00 in hail 0 0 –
2025-06-06 HailBay State, Hampshire County 1.00 in hail 0 0 –
2025-06-06 HailHuntington, Hampshire County 1.00 in hail 0 0 –
2025-06-06 HailColrain, Franklin County 1.00 in hail 0 0 –
2025-06-06 HailLittleton Common, Middlesex 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 Massachusetts

FEMA files hail and wind disasters under the incident type Severe Storm: 12 declarations in Massachusetts, 9 of them major disasters; the latest on June 25, 2018.

The 12 most recent
DeclaredNumberTitleAreas named
2018-06-25DR-4372Severe Winter Storm and Flooding6
2015-04-13DR-4214Severe Winter Storm, Snowstorm, and Flooding10
2013-04-19DR-4110Severe Winter Storm, Snowstorm, and Flooding14
2012-01-06DR-4051Severe Storm and Snowstorm6
2011-11-01EM-3343Severe Storm8
2010-03-29DR-1895Severe Storms and Flooding7
2008-12-13EM-3296Severe Winter Storm9
2007-05-16DR-1701Severe Storms and Inland and Coastal Flooding8
2006-05-25DR-1642Severe Storms and Flooding3
2005-11-10DR-1614Severe Storms and Flooding11
2005-10-19EM-3264Severe Storms and Flooding1
2001-04-10DR-1364Severe Storms and Flooding7

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

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