Minnesota hail
Every recorded hail report since 1955 · 87 counties with a record
NOAA's Storm Events Database records 15,756 hail reports in Minnesota from 1955 through June 30, 2026, about 455 a year since 2000. The costliest was the May 15, 1998 hail ($1.1 billion in 2025 dollars). Minnesota ranks 8th of 52 states and territories by count and 15th of 51 per square mile.
Hail in Minnesota, 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
- 15,7561955 to June 30, 2026
- A year since 2000
- 455average
- Deaths
- 030 injuries
- Damage, 2025 dollars
- $1.9Bas filed
- Busiest year
- 2002723 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 Minnesota?
Minnesota averages about 455 hail reports a year since 2000, 8th of 52 states and territories by count. The busiest year on record was 2002 (723). Per 10,000 square miles of land, Minnesota records 1979 hail reports since 1955, 15th 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 Minnesota have the most hail reports?
Per square mile, Ramsey County leads Minnesota: 97 days with a hail report since 1955, 637.1 per 1,000 square miles of land. By raw count, Hennepin County has the most hail records (586 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).
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 Minnesota?
49% of its hail reports since 1955 fell in June and July. The busiest month is June (4,171 records).
The values, month by month
Jan 1 · Feb 0 · Mar 155 · Apr 934 · May 2,948 · Jun 4,171 · Jul 3,611 · Aug 2,599 · Sep 1,153 · Oct 166 · Nov 16 · Dec 2 (records).
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records by the month they began, since 1955.
The costliest hail reports in Minnesota
| Date | Record | Character | Killed | Injured | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1998-05-15 | HailBloomington, Hennepin County One storm episode: 7 records in 6 places; the totals are the episode's. | 0.75 in hail | 0 | 0 | $1.1B |
| 2006-08-24 | HailNorthfield, Rice County One storm episode: 18 records in 9 places; the totals are the episode's. | 2.75 in hail | 0 | 0 | $181M |
| 1994-07-18 | HailWheaton, Traverse County Every hail record filed in the state that day (4, in 3 places; before 1996 NOAA filed no storm episodes); the totals are the day's. | 1.00 in hail | 0 | 0 | $100M |
| 1998-08-23 | HailDuluth, St. Louis County | 3.50 in hail | 0 | 0 | $91M |
| 2005-09-21 | Hurricane Katrina · HailBig Lake, Sherburne County One storm episode: 10 records in 6 places; the totals are the episode's. | 1.75 in hail | 0 | 0 | $77M |
| 2001-06-11 | HailSt Bonifacius, Hennepin County One storm episode: 10 records in 6 places; the totals are the episode's. | 3.00 in hail | 0 | 0 | $68M |
| 2007-06-20 | HailHastings, Dakota County One storm episode: 9 records in 8 places; the totals are the episode's. | 3.00 in hail | 0 | 20 | $36M |
| 1997-06-22 | HailLake Benton, Lincoln County | 1.75 in hail | 0 | 0 | $28M |
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 Minnesota?
Minnesota'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.
| Decade | Minnesota | United States | Minnesota's share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1955-59 | 77 | 2,477 | 3.1% |
| 1960s | 238 | 7,651 | 3.1% |
| 1970s | 427 | 11,007 | 3.9% |
| 1980s | 798 | 26,555 | 3.0% |
| 1990s | 2,121 | 75,581 | 2.8% |
| 2000s | 5,494 | 137,396 | 4.0% |
| 2010s | 3,966 | 107,281 | 3.7% |
| 2020-26 | 2,635 | 56,491 | 4.7% |
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database.
The most recent hail reports in Minnesota
| Date | Record | Character | Killed | Injured | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-06-29 | HailInternational Falls Airport, Koochiching County | 1.00 in hail | 0 | 0 | – |
| 2026-06-29 | HailWrenshall, Carlton County | 1.00 in hail | 0 | 0 | – |
| 2026-06-29 | HailMahtowa, Carlton County | 1.75 in hail | 0 | 0 | – |
| 2026-06-29 | HailBarnum, Carlton County | 1.75 in hail | 0 | 0 | – |
| 2026-06-29 | HailBarnum, Carlton County | 1.50 in hail | 0 | 0 | – |
| 2026-06-29 | HailBarnum, Carlton County | 1.75 in hail | 0 | 0 | – |
| 2026-06-29 | HailLawler, Aitkin County | 2.00 in hail | 0 | 0 | – |
| 2026-06-29 | HailLawler, Aitkin County | 1.00 in hail | 0 | 0 | – |
| 2026-06-29 | HailBrimson, St. Louis County | 0.75 in hail | 0 | 0 | – |
| 2026-06-29 | HailGlory, Aitkin County | 1.50 in hail | 0 | 0 | – |
| 2026-06-29 | HailCrosby, Crow Wing County | 0.88 in hail | 0 | 0 | – |
| 2026-06-29 | HailTaconite, Itasca County | 1.50 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 Minnesota
FEMA files hail and wind disasters under the incident type Severe Storm: 26 declarations in Minnesota, 25 of them major disasters; the latest on August 9, 2022.
| Declared | Number | Title | Areas named |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022-08-09 | DR-4666 | Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, Tornadoes, and Flooding | 23 |
| 2022-07-08 | DR-4658 | Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, Tornadoes, and Flooding | 23 |
| 2013-07-25 | DR-4131 | Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, and Flooding | 18 |
| 2013-05-03 | DR-4113 | Severe Winter Storm | 5 |
| 2012-07-06 | DR-4069 | Severe Storms and Flooding | 18 |
| 2011-07-28 | DR-4009 | Severe Storms, Flooding, and Tornadoes | 16 |
| 2011-06-07 | DR-1990 | Severe Storms and Tornadoes | 2 |
| 2010-10-13 | DR-1941 | Severe Storms and Flooding | 29 |
| 2009-04-09 | DR-1830 | Severe Storms and Flooding | 30 |
| 2009-03-26 | EM-3304 | Severe Storms and Flooding | 7 |
| 2008-06-25 | DR-1772 | Severe Storms and Flooding | 6 |
| 2007-08-23 | DR-1717 | Severe Storms and Flooding | 8 |
Source: FEMA OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries (v2), through October 2, 2026. OpenFEMA dataset page.
Next
- Ramsey County: the county's whole recordThe Minnesota county with the most hail reports per square mile
- Hail across the United StatesEvery state ranked, by year and month
- Every natural hazard in MinnesotaTornadoes, floods, storms, heat and the federal declarations
- Severe thunderstorm wind in Minnesota13,697 records
- Winter storms in Minnesota12,156 records
- Extreme cold in Minnesota4,238 records