Virginia hail

Every recorded hail report since 1955 · 134 counties with a record

NOAA's Storm Events Database records 6,183 hail reports in Virginia from 1955 through June 30, 2026, about 183 a year since 2000. The deadliest was the April 7, 2020 hail in Augusta County: 1 death and 5 injuries. Virginia ranks 25th of 52 states and territories by count and 23rd of 51 per square mile.

Hail in Virginia, 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: 6,1831955 to June 30, 2026
A year since 2000: 183average
Deaths: 17 injuries
Damage, 2025 dollars: $118Mas filed
Busiest year: 2011430 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 Virginia?

Virginia averages about 183 hail reports a year since 2000, 25th of 52 states and territories by count. The busiest year on record was 2011 (430). Per 10,000 square miles of land, Virginia records 1566 hail reports since 1955, 23rd 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 Virginia have the most hail reports?

Per square mile, Roanoke County leads Virginia: 80 days with a hail report since 1955, 319.3 per 1,000 square miles of land. By raw count, Pittsylvania County has the most hail records (199 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).

Roanoke County 319.3 (138)
Fairfax County 253.2 (182)
Henrico County 243.9 (105)
Montgomery County 235.2 (164)
Virginia Beach (city) 220.7 (72)
Henry County 211.8 (130)
York County 191.0 (27)
Patrick County 186.4 (125)
Stafford County 186.2 (74)
Pulaski County 184.5 (97)
Clarke County 176.2 (43)
Loudoun County 170.6 (170)

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 Virginia?

53% of its hail reports since 1955 fell in May and June. The busiest month is May (1,701 records).

The values, month by month

Jan 8 · Feb 95 · Mar 238 · Apr 894 · May 1,701 · Jun 1,580 · Jul 826 · Aug 546 · Sep 224 · Oct 26 · Nov 31 · Dec 14 (records).

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

What were the deadliest hail reports in Virginia?

Virginia: the storms with the most deaths since 1955
Date	Record	Character	Killed	Injured	Damage
2020-04-07	HailLofton, Augusta County Quarter sized hail accumulated two inches deep on Interstate 81 and Interstate 64 near Spotswood, causing multiple accidents and partially closing the highway. This led to one fatalitiy and five injuries.	1.00 in hail	1	5	–

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database: deaths direct and indirect, as filed by the National Weather Service, summed over each storm (one episode, or one named storm filed by several offices). Storm names from the titles of FEMA declarations that name the storm's counties.

The costliest hail reports in Virginia

Virginia: the most damaging storms since 1993, 2025 dollars
Date	Record	Character	Injured	Damage
1999-04-23	HailWinchester Airport, Frederick County One storm episode: 22 records in 10 places; the totals are the episode's.	3.50 in hail	0	$69M
1997-05-01	HailNorfolk (city) One storm episode: 6 records in 6 places; the totals are the episode's.	1.75 in hail	2	$31M
2012-08-01	HailRoanoke City, Roanoke County One storm episode: 2 records in 2 places; the totals are the episode's.	1.75 in hail	0	$2.2M
1997-07-04	HailWytheville, Wythe County One storm episode: 3 records in 3 places; the totals are the episode's.	1.75 in hail	0	$1.7M
2000-05-13	HailWarrenton, Fauquier County	2.50 in hail	0	$1.7M
2014-07-24	HailCheriton, Northampton County	1.75 in hail	0	$1.7M
2008-06-16	HailQuinque, Greene County	3.75 in hail	0	$1.4M
2021-03-27	HailHillsville, Carroll County One storm episode: 2 records; the totals are the episode's.	2.00 in hail	0	$1.1M

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 Virginia?

Virginia'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: Virginia and the United States by decade (2020s to June 30, 2026)
Decade	Virginia	United States	Virginia's share
1955-59	27	2,477	1.1%
1960s	74	7,651	1.0%
1970s	69	11,007	0.6%
1980s	144	26,555	0.5%
1990s	1,080	75,581	1.4%
2000s	2,276	137,396	1.7%
2010s	1,885	107,281	1.8%
2020-26	628	56,491	1.1%

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database.

The most recent hail reports in Virginia

The 12 most recent records, to June 30, 2026
Date	Record	Character	Damage
2026-06-23	HailOyster Pt, Newport News (city)	1.00 in hail	–
2026-06-23	HailHopewell (city)	1.00 in hail	–
2026-06-23	HailOyster Pt, Newport News (city)	1.00 in hail	$1K
2026-06-23	HailPrince George County	1.75 in hail	$3K
2026-06-14	HailNewport News (city)	1.50 in hail	–
2026-06-14	HailHampton (city)	1.25 in hail	–
2026-06-12	HailLynchburg (city)	0.75 in hail	–
2026-06-12	HailWaterfall, Prince William County	1.00 in hail	–
2026-06-12	HailThoroughfare, Prince William County	0.75 in hail	–
2026-06-11	HailStewartsville, Bedford County	1.00 in hail	–
2026-05-27	HailGreen Bay, Prince Edward County	1.00 in hail	–
2026-05-27	HailGalts Mill, Amherst County	1.75 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 Virginia

FEMA files hail and wind disasters under the incident type Severe Storm: 20 declarations in Virginia, 20 of them major disasters; the latest on April 4, 2025.

The 12 most recent
Declared	Number	Title	Areas named
2025-04-04	DR-4863	Severe Winter Storms and Flooding	36
2022-09-30	DR-4674	Flooding and Mudslides	2
2022-03-11	DR-4644	Severe Winter Storm and Snowstorm	28
2012-07-27	DR-4072	Severe Storms and Straight-Line Winds	69
2011-11-17	DR-4045	The Remnants of Tropical Storm Lee	8
2009-12-09	DR-1862	Severe Storms and Flooding Associated With Tropical Depression Ida and A Nor'east	12
2006-09-22	DR-1661	Tropical Depression Ernesto, Severe Storms and Flooding	26
2006-07-13	DR-1655	Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding	16
2004-10-18	DR-1570	Severe Storms and Flooding From the Remanants of Hurricane Jeanne	10
2004-09-03	DR-1544	Severe Storms, Flooding and Tornadoes Associated W Td Gaston	12
2004-06-15	DR-1525	Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding	4
2003-12-09	DR-1502	Severe Storms and Flooding	6

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