StormProof → guides → When is hail season? Regional timing from the record

When is hail season? Regional timing from the record

Severe hail in the US concentrates in spring and early summer, with the window shifting north and west as the season advances: the Gulf South peaks March–May; Texas through Kansas April–June; the central and northern Plains May–July; the High Plains and Front Range June–August. Our metro season pages make this concrete — each shows its own month distribution straight from the record.

For claim work the tails matter as much as the peaks: an October hailstorm is rare enough that adjusters reflexively doubt it, and rare enough that the official record for that date settles it instantly. Off-season events are where verification earns its keep.

Which month has the most severe hail nationally?

May and June dominate the national counts in the Storm Events record, with April close behind in the southern Plains. Regional peaks differ — check the month rows on any metro season page here for the local pattern.

Can it hail damaging sizes outside hail season?

Yes — the record holds ≥1-inch events in every calendar month somewhere in the country. They are simply rarer, which makes documenting an off-season date of loss against the record more valuable, not less.

Why do hail seasons differ year to year?

Large-scale patterns (jet position, moisture, ENSO state) shift storm tracks and frequency. That variance is why per-season pages from the actual record beat climatological averages for claim context: 2024 in DFW is not "average DFW."

Sources and standing caveat

Official records referenced throughout: NCEI Storm Events Database (the official NWS storm record, 1950–present) and SPC daily storm reports (preliminary, same-day). NWS records are point and path observations. The absence of a nearby report does NOT prove that no hail fell at this address — it means no observation was logged nearby. A report of nearby hail documents the event; it does not by itself prove damage to a specific structure. Nothing on this page is legal, insurance, or public-adjusting advice — deadlines, coverage and remedies are policy- and state-specific.

Put the record in the file

A per-address verification report compiles every NWS-recorded hail and wind event within 1, 3 and 10 miles of any US address — distances, official narratives, citations, provenance labels — formatted as an insurance-appeal attachment, hosted on HailEvidence (the neutral evidence surface).

Unlimited reports — Pro $99/mo Single report $29