Rhode Island hail

Every recorded hail report since 1955 · 5 counties with a record

NOAA's Storm Events Database records 140 hail reports in Rhode Island from 1955 through June 30, 2026, about 4.6 a year since 2000. Rhode Island ranks 48th of 52 states and territories by count and 29th of 51 per square mile.

Hail in Rhode Island, 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: 1401955 to June 30, 2026
A year since 2000: 4.6average
Deaths: 00 injuries
Damage, 2025 dollars: $27Kas filed
Busiest year: 200819 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 Rhode Island?

Rhode Island averages about 4.6 hail reports a year since 2000, 48th of 52 states and territories by count. The busiest year on record was 2008 (19). Per 10,000 square miles of land, Rhode Island records 1354 hail reports since 1955, 29th 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 Rhode Island have the most hail reports?

Per square mile, Kent County leads Rhode Island: 26 days with a hail report since 1955, 154.2 per 1,000 square miles of land. By raw count, Providence County has the most hail records (63 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).

Kent County 154.2 (31)
Providence County 105.0 (63)
Newport County 97.6 (13)
Washington County 60.7 (27)

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 Rhode Island?

66% of its hail reports since 1955 fell in June and July. The busiest month is July (50 records).

The values, month by month

Jan 0 · Feb 0 · Mar 1 · Apr 4 · May 23 · Jun 43 · Jul 50 · Aug 16 · Sep 3 · Oct 0 · Nov 0 · Dec 0 (records).

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

Are hail reports becoming more frequent in Rhode Island?

Rhode Island'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: Rhode Island and the United States by decade (2020s to June 30, 2026)
Decade	Rhode Island	United States	Rhode Island's share
1955-59	1	2,477	0.04%
1960s	3	7,651	0.04%
1970s	2	11,007	0.02%
1980s	0	26,555	0
1990s	28	75,581	0.04%
2000s	53	137,396	0.04%
2010s	37	107,281	0.03%
2020-26	16	56,491	0.03%

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database.

The most recent hail reports in Rhode Island

The 3 most recent records, to June 30, 2026
Date	Record	Character	Damage
2025-07-03	HailFoster Center, Providence County	1.00 in hail	–
2012-07-18	HailCumberland Hill, Providence County	2.00 in hail	–
1998-06-30	HailRichmond, Washington County	2.75 in hail	–

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 Rhode Island

FEMA files hail and wind disasters under the incident type Severe Storm: 8 declarations in Rhode Island, 7 of them major disasters; the latest on March 20, 2024.

The 12 most recent
Declared	Number	Title	Areas named
2024-03-20	DR-4766	Severe Storms and Flooding	4
2024-03-20	DR-4765	Severe Storm and Flooding	3
2024-01-07	DR-4753	Severe Storms, Flooding, and Tornadoes	1
2015-04-03	DR-4212	Severe Winter Storm and Snowstorm	5
2013-03-22	DR-4107	Severe Winter Storm and Snowstorm	5
2010-03-30	EM-3311	Severe Storms and Flooding	5
2010-03-29	DR-1894	Severe Storms and Flooding	5
2007-05-25	DR-1704	Severe Storms and Inland and Coastal Flooding	1

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