PlainHazard

Montana hail

Every recorded hail report since 1955 · 56 counties with a record

NOAA's Storm Events Database records 8,391 hail reports in Montana from 1955 through June 30, 2026, about 250 a year since 2000. The costliest was the June 30, 2010 hail ($81.2 million in 2025 dollars). Montana ranks 18th of 52 states and territories by count and 38th of 51 per square mile.

Hail in Montana, 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
8,3911955 to June 30, 2026
A year since 2000
250average
Deaths
07 injuries
Damage, 2025 dollars
$197Mas filed
Busiest year
2001562 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 Montana?

Montana averages about 250 hail reports a year since 2000, 18th of 52 states and territories by count. The busiest year on record was 2001 (562). Per 10,000 square miles of land, Montana records 577 hail reports since 1955, 38th 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. 38. Montana 577

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 Montana have the most hail reports?

Per square mile, Wibaux County leads Montana: 82 days with a hail report since 1955, 92.2 per 1,000 square miles of land. By raw count, Yellowstone County has the most hail records (507 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. Wibaux County 92.2 (127)
  2. Yellowstone County 71.0 (507)
  3. Sheridan County 63.8 (197)
  4. Prairie County 61.0 (185)
  5. Fallon County 57.4 (187)
  6. Golden Valley County 56.2 (123)
  7. Richland County 54.7 (217)
  8. Roosevelt County 54.4 (248)
  9. Stillwater County 54.0 (185)
  10. Dawson County 52.7 (244)
  11. Treasure County 52.2 (87)
  12. Judith Basin County 51.9 (149)

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 Montana?

73% of its hail reports since 1955 fell in June and July. The busiest month is July (3,188 records).

The values, month by month

Jan 0 · Feb 0 · Mar 9 · Apr 43 · May 768 · Jun 2,899 · Jul 3,188 · Aug 1,295 · Sep 185 · Oct 4 · Nov 0 · Dec 0 (records).

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

The costliest hail reports in Montana

Montana: the most damaging storms since 1993, 2025 dollars
DateRecordCharacterKilledInjuredDamage
2010-06-30 HailBozeman, Gallatin County One storm episode: 3 records; the totals are the episode's. 1.00 in hail 0 0 $81M
2007-06-16 HailGlasgow, Valley County One storm episode: 4 records in 3 places; the totals are the episode's. 3.00 in hail 0 0 $53M
1998-07-31 HailBillings, Yellowstone County 1.25 in hail 0 0 $16M
1998-07-04 HailBillings, Yellowstone County One storm episode: 3 records; the totals are the episode's. 1.75 in hail 0 0 $14M
2002-08-04 HailStevensville, Ravalli County 1.00 in hail 0 0 $3.4M
1994-06-22 HailBig Sandy, Fergus County Every hail record filed in the state that day (3, in 2 places; before 1996 NOAA filed no storm episodes); the totals are the day's. 1.00 in hail 0 0 $3.2M
1999-07-21 HailGlasgow, Valley County One storm episode: 4 records; the totals are the episode's. 4.50 in hail 0 0 $3.0M
1994-06-06 HailValier, Pondera County 1.50 in hail 0 0 $2.0M

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 Montana?

Montana'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: Montana and the United States by decade (2020s to June 30, 2026)
DecadeMontanaUnited StatesMontana's share
1955-591372,4775.5%
1960s1937,6512.5%
1970s13711,0071.2%
1980s19026,5550.7%
1990s1,20475,5811.6%
2000s3,069137,3962.2%
2010s2,517107,2812.3%
2020-2694456,4911.7%

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database.

The most recent hail reports in Montana

The 12 most recent records, to June 30, 2026
DateRecordCharacterKilledInjuredDamage
2026-06-27 HailHammond, Carter County 2.00 in hail 0 0 –
2026-06-27 HailHammond, Carter County 1.75 in hail 0 0 –
2026-06-27 HailOllie, Fallon County 1.00 in hail 0 0 –
2026-06-27 HailWebster, Fallon County 1.75 in hail 0 0 –
2026-06-27 HailEkalaka, Carter County 1.00 in hail 0 0 –
2026-06-27 HailRidge, Carter County 2.00 in hail 0 0 –
2026-06-27 HailRidge, Carter County 2.00 in hail 0 0 –
2026-06-27 HailBiddle, Powder River County 1.75 in hail 0 0 –
2026-06-27 HailCrow Agency, Big Horn County 1.00 in hail 0 0 –
2026-06-27 HailBridger, Carbon County 1.00 in hail 0 0 –
2026-06-27 HailEnid, Richland County 1.75 in hail 0 0 –
2026-06-27 HailEnid, Richland 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 Montana

FEMA files hail and wind disasters under the incident type Severe Storm: 14 declarations in Montana, 14 of them major disasters; the latest on November 14, 2024.

The 12 most recent
DeclaredNumberTitleAreas named
2024-11-14DR-4847Severe Storm and Straight-Line Winds1
2024-07-18DR-4801Severe Winter Storm and Flooding12
2016-05-24DR-4271Severe Winter Storm and Straight-Line Winds5
2014-10-09DR-4198Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, and Flooding6
2011-06-17DR-1996Severe Storms and Flooding55
2010-07-10DR-1922Severe Storms and Flooding3
2008-06-13DR-1767Severe Winter Storm4
2002-07-03DR-1424Severe Storms and Flooding6
2001-07-07DR-1385Severe Winter Storms3
2001-05-28DR-1377Severe Winter Storms2
2000-12-06DR-1350Severe Winter Storms7
1997-07-25DR-1183Severe Storms,Ice Jams, Snow Melt, Flooding23

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

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