Washington hail

Every recorded hail report since 1955 · 31 counties with a record

NOAA's Storm Events Database records 395 hail reports in Washington from 1955 through June 30, 2026, about 12 a year since 2000. The deadliest was the May 19, 2022 hail in Cowlitz County: 1 death. Washington ranks 45th of 52 states and territories by count and 48th of 51 per square mile.

Hail in Washington, 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: 3951955 to June 30, 2026
A year since 2000: 12average
Deaths: 116 injuries
Damage, 2025 dollars: $376Mas filed
Busiest year: 201243 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 Washington?

Washington averages about 12 hail reports a year since 2000, 45th of 52 states and territories by count. The busiest year on record was 2012 (43). Per 10,000 square miles of land, Washington records 59 hail reports since 1955, 48th 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 Washington have the most hail reports?

Per square mile, Asotin County leads Washington: 16 days with a hail report since 1955, 25.2 per 1,000 square miles of land. By raw count, Spokane County has the most hail records (44 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).

Asotin County 25.2 (21)
Spokane County 16.4 (44)
Garfield County 15.5 (12)
Clark County 11.1 (7)
Walla Walla County 11.0 (21)
Columbia County 10.4 (10)
Pend Oreille County 9.3 (25)
Stevens County 8.5 (31)
Douglas County 8.2 (16)
Whitman County 7.4 (22)
Benton County 7.1 (14)
Klickitat County 5.9 (12)

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 Washington?

58% of its hail reports since 1955 fell in June and July. The busiest month is July (124 records).

The values, month by month

Jan 0 · Feb 0 · Mar 4 · Apr 21 · May 67 · Jun 106 · Jul 124 · Aug 52 · Sep 14 · Oct 5 · Nov 1 · Dec 1 (records).

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

What were the deadliest hail reports in Washington?

Washington: the storms with the most deaths since 1955
Date	Record	Character	Killed	Injured	Damage
2022-05-19	HailLexington, Cowlitz County Washington State Patrol reported all lanes of I5 closed around exit 42 due to traffic accidents attributed to hail accumulating on pavement. Three to five vehicles involved in accidents. There was one fatality and one injury. Note: Hail size estimated from other reports in the region.	0.25 in hail	1	0	–

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 Washington

Washington: the most damaging storms since 1993, 2025 dollars
Date	Record	Character	Damage
2001-06-27	HailBuena, Yakima County	1.00 in hail	$117M
1994-05-16	HailChelan County	0.00 in hail	$100M
1995-07-09	HailOkanogan County Every hail record filed in the state that day (2, in 2 places; before 1996 NOAA filed no storm episodes); the totals are the day's.	1.50 in hail	$48M
2006-07-04	HailHarrington, Lincoln County One storm episode: 3 records in 2 places; the totals are the episode's.	1.25 in hail	$41M
2006-07-05	HailDryden, Chelan County One storm episode: 8 records in 2 places; the totals are the episode's.	1.25 in hail	$39M
2006-07-05	HailOrondo, Douglas County	1.00 in hail	$8.7M
2006-07-06	HailLoomis, Okanogan County One storm episode: 2 records; the totals are the episode's.	0.75 in hail	$7.2M
2001-06-27	HailRitzville, Adams County	0.75 in hail	$6.7M

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 Washington?

Washington'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: Washington and the United States by decade (2020s to June 30, 2026)
Decade	Washington	United States	Washington's share
1955-59	5	2,477	0.20%
1960s	5	7,651	0.07%
1970s	11	11,007	0.10%
1980s	9	26,555	0.03%
1990s	60	75,581	0.08%
2000s	146	137,396	0.11%
2010s	122	107,281	0.11%
2020-26	37	56,491	0.07%

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database.

The most recent hail reports in Washington

The 12 most recent records, to June 30, 2026
Date	Record	Character	Killed	Injured	Damage
2023-07-10	HailFord, Stevens County	2.00 in hail	0	0	$10K
2022-08-11	HailLatah, Spokane County	2.75 in hail	0	0	$353K
2022-05-19	HailLexington, Cowlitz County	0.25 in hail	1	0	–
2014-07-23	HailKettle Falls, Stevens County	2.00 in hail	0	0	$17K
2007-03-21	HailSteptoe, Whitman County	0.25 in hail	0	3	–
2006-07-06	HailOroville, Okanogan County	0.75 in hail	0	0	$3.6M
2006-07-06	HailLoomis, Okanogan County	0.75 in hail	0	0	$3.6M
2006-07-05	HailOrondo, Douglas County	1.00 in hail	0	0	$8.7M
2006-07-05	HailOroville, Okanogan County	0.75 in hail	0	0	$3.6M
2006-07-05	HailOroville, Okanogan County	0.75 in hail	0	0	$3.6M
2006-07-05	HailConconully, Okanogan County	0.75 in hail	0	0	$3.6M
2006-07-05	HailTwisp, Okanogan County	0.75 in hail	0	0	$3.6M

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 Washington

FEMA files hail and wind disasters under the incident type Severe Storm: 20 declarations in Washington, 20 of them major disasters; the latest on April 28, 2024.

The 12 most recent
Declared	Number	Title	Areas named
2024-04-28	DR-4775	Severe Winter Storms, Straight-Line Winds, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides	17
2023-01-12	DR-4682	Severe Winter Storm, Straight-Line Winds, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides	9
2021-04-08	DR-4593	Severe Winter Storm, Straight-Line Winds, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides	18
2019-03-04	DR-4418	Severe Winter Storms, Straight-Line Winds, Flooding, Landslides, Mudslides, Tornado	8
2016-01-15	DR-4249	Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides	16
2015-10-15	DR-4242	Severe Windstorm	6
2012-09-25	DR-4083	Severe Storm, Straight-Line Winds, and Flooding	3
2012-03-05	DR-4056	Severe Winter Storm, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides	11
2011-03-25	DR-1963	Severe Winter Storm, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides	7
2009-03-02	DR-1825	Severe Winter Storm and Record and Near Record Snow	34
2007-12-08	DR-1734	Severe Storms, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides	12
2007-02-14	DR-1682	Severe Winter Storm, Landslides, and Mudslides	19

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