PlainHazard

Pennsylvania hail

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

NOAA's Storm Events Database records 5,524 hail reports in Pennsylvania from 1955 through June 30, 2026, about 160 a year since 2000. The costliest was the July 10, 2001 hail ($3.3 million in 2025 dollars). Pennsylvania ranks 28th of 52 states and territories by count and 31st of 51 per square mile.

Hail in Pennsylvania, 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
5,5241955 to June 30, 2026
A year since 2000
160average
Deaths
01 injuries
Damage, 2025 dollars
$17Mas filed
Busiest year
2012366 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 Pennsylvania?

Pennsylvania averages about 160 hail reports a year since 2000, 28th of 52 states and territories by count. The busiest year on record was 2012 (366). Per 10,000 square miles of land, Pennsylvania records 1235 hail reports since 1955, 31st 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. 31. Pennsylvania 1235

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 Pennsylvania have the most hail reports?

Per square mile, Philadelphia County leads Pennsylvania: 34 days with a hail report since 1955, 253.1 per 1,000 square miles of land. By raw count, Allegheny County has the most hail records (445 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. Philadelphia County 253.1 (45)
  2. Allegheny County 231.5 (445)
  3. Beaver County 207.0 (153)
  4. Delaware County 201.3 (63)
  5. Montgomery County 159.4 (132)
  6. Erie County 146.5 (206)
  7. Lawrence County 142.7 (105)
  8. Lehigh County 141.9 (93)
  9. Westmoreland County 128.4 (294)
  10. Northampton County 127.1 (69)
  11. Mercer County 119.0 (160)
  12. Butler County 116.5 (201)

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 Pennsylvania?

45% of its hail reports since 1955 fell in May and June. The busiest month is June (1,292 records).

The values, month by month

Jan 13 · Feb 34 · Mar 257 · Apr 596 · May 1,221 · Jun 1,292 · Jul 1,027 · Aug 714 · Sep 247 · Oct 60 · Nov 53 · Dec 10 (records).

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

The costliest hail reports in Pennsylvania

Pennsylvania: the most damaging storms since 1993, 2025 dollars
DateRecordCharacterKilledInjuredDamage
2001-07-10 HailNorth East, Erie County 0.75 in hail 0 0 $3.3M
2022-11-27 HailWhitsett, Fayette County One storm episode: 3 records in 2 places; the totals are the episode's. 2.00 in hail 0 0 $2.4M
2007-08-17 HailWeatherly, Carbon County One storm episode: 3 records in 2 places; the totals are the episode's. 2.50 in hail 0 0 $1.8M
2004-05-10 HailEdinboro, Erie County 1.00 in hail 0 0 $1.3M
1994-07-29 HailMars, Butler County 1.00 in hail 0 0 $1.1M
1994-09-25 HailMeadville, Crawford County 3.80 in hail 0 0 $995K
1999-07-30 HailJersey Shr, Lycoming County One storm episode: 2 records in 2 places; the totals are the episode's. 1.00 in hail 0 0 $886K
2010-06-04 HailNew Richmond, Crawford County One storm episode: 2 records; the totals are the episode's. 4.00 in hail 0 0 $677K

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 Pennsylvania?

Pennsylvania'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: Pennsylvania and the United States by decade (2020s to June 30, 2026)
DecadePennsylvaniaUnited StatesPennsylvania's share
1955-59162,4770.6%
1960s567,6510.7%
1970s14111,0071.3%
1980s32226,5551.2%
1990s76675,5811.0%
2000s1,553137,3961.1%
2010s1,832107,2811.7%
2020-2683856,4911.5%

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database.

The most recent hail reports in Pennsylvania

The 12 most recent records, to June 30, 2026
DateRecordCharacterKilledInjuredDamage
2026-06-25 HailMooreheadville, Erie County 0.75 in hail 0 0 –
2026-06-25 HailMooreheadville, Erie County 1.00 in hail 0 0 –
2026-06-22 HailLudwigs Corner, Chester County 1.00 in hail 0 0 –
2026-06-14 HailWertzville, Cumberland County 1.00 in hail 0 0 –
2026-06-14 HailGettysburg Jct, Cumberland County 1.00 in hail 0 0 –
2026-06-14 HailCambridge Spgs, Crawford County 1.25 in hail 0 0 –
2026-06-06 HailMarianna, Washington County 1.00 in hail 0 0 –
2026-05-20 HailWayne, Delaware County 1.00 in hail 0 0 –
2026-05-13 HailStahlstown, Westmoreland County 1.00 in hail 0 0 –
2026-05-13 HailHutchinson, Westmoreland County 1.00 in hail 0 0 –
2026-05-13 HailWest Newton, Westmoreland County 1.00 in hail 0 0 –
2026-05-13 HailFinleyville, Washington 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 Pennsylvania

FEMA files hail and wind disasters under the incident type Severe Storm: 17 declarations in Pennsylvania, 16 of them major disasters; the latest on November 27, 2018.

The 12 most recent
DeclaredNumberTitleAreas named
2018-11-27DR-4408Severe Storms and Flooding11
2013-10-01DR-4149Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding11
2011-07-13DR-4003Severe Storms and Flooding5
2007-02-23DR-1684Severe Storms and Flooding8
2006-06-30DR-1649Severe Storms, Flooding, and Mudslides28
2005-04-14DR-1587Severe Storms and Flooding11
2004-09-19DR-1555Severe Storms and Flooding Associated With Tropical Depression Frances67
2004-08-06DR-1538Severe Storms and Flooding7
2003-09-26DR-1497Tropical Storms Henri and Isabel and Related Severe Storms and Flooding1
2003-08-23DR-1485Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding15
2003-03-14EM-3180Snow36
2001-06-21DR-1383Tropical Storm Allison3

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

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