Wisconsin hail

Every recorded hail report since 1955 · 72 counties with a record

NOAA's Storm Events Database records 9,265 hail reports in Wisconsin from 1955 through June 30, 2026, about 271 a year since 2000. The deadliest was the April 3, 2011 hail in Dodge County: 1 death, 2 injuries and $16,000 in damage in 2025 dollars across 6 records. Wisconsin ranks 14th of 52 states and territories by count and 18th of 51 per square mile.

Hail in Wisconsin, 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: 9,2651955 to June 30, 2026
A year since 2000: 271average
Deaths: 143 injuries
Damage, 2025 dollars: $1.6Bas filed
Busiest year: 2006621 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 Wisconsin?

Wisconsin averages about 271 hail reports a year since 2000, 14th of 52 states and territories by count. The busiest year on record was 2006 (621). Per 10,000 square miles of land, Wisconsin records 1710 hail reports since 1955, 18th 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 Wisconsin have the most hail reports?

Per square mile, Milwaukee County leads Wisconsin: 104 days with a hail report since 1955, 430.7 per 1,000 square miles of land. By raw count, Dane County has the most hail records (555 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).

Milwaukee County 430.7 (212)
La Crosse County 219.1 (224)
Winnebago County 213.9 (143)
Racine County 213.5 (122)
Waukesha County 207.4 (260)
Ozaukee County 193.1 (71)
Kenosha County 187.6 (74)
Washington County 185.8 (139)
Jefferson County 168.9 (176)
Calumet County 160.3 (95)
Green Lake County 157.3 (72)
Dane County 150.4 (555)

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 Wisconsin?

Wisconsin's hail reports by month. The busiest month is May (1,835 records).

The values, month by month

Jan 6 · Feb 33 · Mar 340 · Apr 1,354 · May 1,835 · Jun 1,808 · Jul 1,688 · Aug 1,160 · Sep 784 · Oct 224 · Nov 27 · Dec 6 (records).

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

What were the deadliest hail reports in Wisconsin?

Wisconsin: the storms with the most deaths since 1955
Date	Record	Character	Killed	Injured	Damage
2011-04-03	HailBeaver Dam, Dodge County One storm episode: 6 records in 2 places; the totals are the episode's. Two rounds of thunderstorms affected southern Wisconsin on April 3rd, as low pressure moved northeast from Iowa across Wisconsin. Morning elevated thunderstorms, with warm air advection on the nose of a low-level jet ahead of the approaching low, did not produce severe weather...but a shower of small hail created icy ...	0.75 in hail	1	2	$16K

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 Wisconsin

Wisconsin: the most damaging storms since 1993, 2025 dollars
Date	Record	Character	Injured	Damage
2006-06-25	HailDekorra, Columbia County	1.00 in hail	0	$734M
2006-04-13	HailSaukville, Ozaukee County One storm episode: 40 records in 10 places; the totals are the episode's.	1.75 in hail	0	$232M
2000-05-12	HailSt Nazianz, Manitowoc County One storm episode: 4 records in 4 places; the totals are the episode's.	2.50 in hail	30	$203M
2007-06-07	HailPort Edwards, Wood County One storm episode: 3 records in 3 places; the totals are the episode's.	5.50 in hail	1	$64M
2020-06-02	HailHolmen, La Crosse County One storm episode: 2 records; the totals are the episode's.	2.50 in hail	0	$54M
2005-09-21	HailRice Lake, Barron County	3.00 in hail	0	$45M
2011-04-10	HailCalvert, La Crosse County One storm episode: 3 records in 2 places; the totals are the episode's.	2.00 in hail	0	$41M
2001-05-01	HailRiver Falls, Pierce County One storm episode: 2 records in 2 places; the totals are the episode's.	2.75 in hail	0	$38M

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 Wisconsin?

Wisconsin'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: Wisconsin and the United States by decade (2020s to June 30, 2026)
Decade	Wisconsin	United States	Wisconsin's share
1955-59	32	2,477	1.3%
1960s	166	7,651	2.2%
1970s	206	11,007	1.9%
1980s	431	26,555	1.6%
1990s	1,067	75,581	1.4%
2000s	3,062	137,396	2.2%
2010s	2,403	107,281	2.2%
2020-26	1,898	56,491	3.4%

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database.

The most recent hail reports in Wisconsin

The 12 most recent records, to June 30, 2026
Date	Record	Character	Damage
2026-06-30	HailIndependence, Trempealeau County	1.75 in hail	$62K
2026-06-30	HailBeecher Lake, Marinette County	1.25 in hail	–
2026-06-30	HailBeecher Lake, Marinette County	0.88 in hail	–
2026-06-30	HailPembine, Marinette County	1.50 in hail	–
2026-06-30	HailPembine, Marinette County	1.25 in hail	–
2026-06-29	HailWhite River, Ashland County	1.00 in hail	–
2026-06-29	HailWhite River, Ashland County	1.00 in hail	–
2026-06-29	HailBenoit, Bayfield County	1.50 in hail	–
2026-06-29	HailIno, Bayfield County	0.75 in hail	–
2026-06-29	HailRowleys Bay, Door County	1.25 in hail	–
2026-06-24	HailClark County	0.88 in hail	–
2026-06-24	HailFive Pts, Grant County	1.00 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 Wisconsin

FEMA files hail and wind disasters under the incident type Severe Storm: 20 declarations in Wisconsin, 19 of them major disasters; the latest on October 7, 2017.

The 12 most recent
Declared	Number	Title	Areas named
2017-10-07	DR-4343	Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, Flooding, Landslides, and Mud	11
2016-08-09	DR-4276	Severe Storms and Flooding	9
2013-08-08	DR-4141	Severe Storms, Flooding, and Mudslides	8
2012-08-02	DR-4076	Severe Storms and Flooding	4
2010-10-21	DR-1944	Severe Storms and Flooding	9
2010-08-11	DR-1933	Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding	3
2008-06-14	DR-1768	Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding	31
2007-08-26	DR-1719	Severe Storms and Flooding	14
2004-06-18	DR-1526	Severe Storms and Flooding	44
2002-07-19	DR-1429	Severe Storms and Flooding	8
2000-06-24	DR-1332	Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding	30
1998-08-12	DR-1238	Severe Storms and Flooding	5

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