StormProof → hail seasons → Phoenix → 1997

Phoenix hail season 1997

1 NWS-recorded hail reports ≥1″ within 35 miles, across 1 storm days, max 1.25". Every one of those reports is a dated, located, citable official record — the context behind this market's 1997 claim volume.

Biggest storm days (1997, final record)

“Hail covered the ground up to six inches deep. An NWS employee had roof tile broken and glass window broken on his house.Damage was sustained by aircraft at Falcon Field. Apache Wells RV/Golf Resort had damage to TV antennas, and damage to roofs and awnings. Citrus trees lost many of their leaves and fruit in the vicinity of Greenfield and Brown Roads. Some other trees were stripped of half or more of their leaves.”

— NWS event narrative, October 7, 1997 (NCEI Storm Events)

When it fell

Oct 1

Wind context: the record also holds 34 thunderstorm-wind events ≥50 kt (≈58 mph, the NWS severe criterion) in this radius for 1997 — relevant where the dispute is wind vs hail causation.

Working a Phoenix claim from 1997?

These are aggregates. A claim file needs the per-address record: every recorded event within 1, 3 and 10 miles of the property, distances, official narratives, and citations an adjuster can check line by line. That's the report — generated in seconds, hosted on HailEvidence (the neutral evidence surface), formatted as an insurance-appeal attachment.

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

Provenance

Final counts: NCEI Storm Events Database, file vintage c20260527, hail events with recorded magnitude ≥1.00″ and point coordinates within 35 miles of the Phoenix anchor. 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. Spotted an error? Email the address on our terms page and we correct against the source.