Worst Hail Storms in US History: The Costliest, Ranked

What was the worst hail storm in US history? By cost, among the events the US billion-dollar disaster database names for hail, it was the storms of April 6–11, 2001, which included the "Tri-State" hailstorm of April 10 along Interstate 70 from Kansas City to St. Louis: $5.85 billion in total damage in 2026 dollars. The Rockies hailstorms of June 2023 are a close second at $5.77 billion, followed by the April 2016 Texas hailstorms that hit San Antonio ($4.90 billion) and the May 2017 Denver hailstorm ($4.56 billion), Colorado's most expensive insured catastrophe as of 2023. Some broader severe-weather events with major hail cost more, such as March 12–14, 2024 ($6.51 billion); see the separate list below.

How We Ranked Them

Hail rarely kills, so "worst" here means costliest. The US billion-dollar disaster database was built by NOAA's National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI); Climate Central now maintains it with the same methodology and lead scientist (NOAA retired its own product in May 2025, with no updates after 2024). It lists 447 disasters of $1 billion or more, 1980 to 2026.

What the costs include. Total direct cost, insured and uninsured: homes, businesses, vehicles, public infrastructure and crops. Insured losses are scaled up for what was uninsured.
Which events count. All 42 events whose database name includes "hail". Most also include some wind or tornado damage.
One set of dollars. Costs are CPI-adjusted to 2026 dollars, as the database publishes them; the cost at the time is shown too.

The 15 Costliest Hail Storms in US History

#	Event (database name)	Dates	Hardest hit	Total cost, 2026 dollars	Cost at the time
1	Midwest/Ohio Valley Hail and Tornadoes	Apr 6–11, 2001	Plains, Midwest and Ohio Valley; includes the April 10 Tri-State hailstorm (Kansas City to St. Louis)	$5.85 billion	$3.09 billion
2	Rockies Hail Storms and Central and Eastern Severe Weather	Jun 21–26, 2023	Colorado hail (about 100 people hurt at an outdoor concert); more than 60 tornadoes from Wyoming to Arkansas	$5.77 billion	$5.24 billion
3	North/Central Texas Hail Storm	Apr 10–12, 2016	Plano, Wylie, Frisco, Allen and San Antonio	$4.90 billion	$3.50 billion
4	Colorado Hail Storm and Central Severe Weather	May 8–11, 2017	Denver metro area	$4.56 billion	$3.35 billion
5	Central and Eastern Tornadoes and Hail Storms	May 10–12, 2023	Hail costs focused in Colorado; tornadoes in Kansas, Oklahoma and Nebraska	$3.77 billion	$3.43 billion
6	North Central and Ohio Valley Hail Storms and Severe Weather	Apr 7–8, 2020	Illinois, Iowa, Indiana, Ohio, Michigan, Wisconsin and Missouri	$3.75 billion	$2.88 billion
7	Severe Storms/Hail	Apr 4–7, 2003	Southern Plains and lower Mississippi Valley; Texas hardest hit	$3.65 billion	$2.01 billion
8	Minnesota Severe Storms/Hail	May 15, 1998	Wide areas of Minnesota	$3.34 billion	$1.63 billion
9	Minnesota Hail Storm and Upper Midwest Severe Weather	Jun 9–11, 2017	Minneapolis metro area	$3.20 billion	$2.35 billion
10	Colorado Hail Storms and Southern Severe Weather	May 31–Jun 1, 2024	Eastern Colorado; wind damage in Texas	$3.19 billion	$2.98 billion
11	Colorado Hail Storm	Jun 18–19, 2018	Northern Denver to Boulder and Fort Collins	$2.96 billion	$2.22 billion
12	North Texas Hail Storm	Mar 23–24, 2016	Dallas, Fort Worth and Plano	$2.89 billion	$2.06 billion
13	North Central Hail Storms	May 19, 2022	Southeastern Minnesota and western Wisconsin	$2.77 billion	$2.43 billion
14	North Central Hail Storms	May 9, 2022	South-central Minnesota and western Wisconsin	$2.51 billion	$2.16 billion
15	Texas Hail Storms	May 27–28, 2024	North and east Texas, including Dallas and Houston	$2.49 billion	$2.33 billion

Source: US billion-dollar disaster database (Climate Central, continuing NOAA NCEI), accessed 2026-10-09; "cost at the time" is unadjusted. All 42 hail-named events were ranked; the 16th is Hail, Tornadoes, April 28–29, 1992, Oklahoma and Texas ($2.28 billion).

What the table shows:

The top two are nearly tied. April 2001 and June 2023 are only $80 million apart. The 2001 entry spans six days and is not all hail: it groups that week's storms, tornadoes and hail across the Plains, Midwest and Ohio Valley.
The Front Range keeps coming back. Colorado is hardest hit in five of the fifteen events, all of them since 2017. Minnesota appears four times, and Dallas–Fort Worth three.
Storms that are missing. Fort Worth's 1995 "Mayfest" storm is part of a three-day event the database calls South Plains Severe Weather — torrential rain, hail and tornadoes, with the Dallas and New Orleans areas hardest hit ($12.02 billion in 2026 dollars, 32 deaths); the name lacks "hail". The June 13, 2012 Dallas hailstorm has no entry of its own. Both are in the insured-loss list below.

Also Hail-Driven, but Not Named for Hail

Not ranked above, but the database describes major hail damage in each. Totals include tornado and wind damage (the database does not split cost by cause). Not a complete list.

Central and Southern Severe Weather, Mar 12–14, 2024: $6.51 billion. Up to baseball-size hail in Kansas, Oklahoma and Missouri; tornadoes farther east. SPC: 236 reports of 1-inch-plus hail in those states, up to 6 inches.
Arizona Severe Weather, Oct 5–6, 2010: $5.81 billion. Large hail damaged thousands of cars and buildings in and around Phoenix. SPC: 16 reports in Arizona, up to 3 inches.
North Central and Central Severe Storms, Apr 13–16, 2026: $5.53 billion. Severe hail first, in southern Minnesota, central Wisconsin and eastern Iowa; also dozens of tornadoes. SPC (preliminary): 184 reports in those states, up to 4 inches.
Midwest/Ohio Valley Severe Weather, Apr 28–May 1, 2012: $4.75 billion. "Considerable damage resulting from hail," plus 38 tornadoes. SPC: 352 reports in the seven states, up to 4.5 inches.
Texas and Oklahoma Severe Weather, Apr 27–28, 2021: $3.97 billion. Damage "particularly from hail storms," west of San Antonio and north of Fort Worth. SPC: 109 reports, up to 6.42 inches near Hondo, Texas.
Rockies/Southwest Severe Weather, Jun 6–12, 2012: $3.79 billion, of which the database puts over $1.0 billion on Colorado hail. SPC: 112 Colorado reports, up to 2.75 inches.
South/Southeast Severe Weather, Mar 26–28, 2017: $3.69 billion. Large hail and high winds north of Dallas. SPC: 123 Texas reports, up to 4.25 inches.

Costs: the same database, 2026 dollars. SPC: NOAA Storm Prediction Center hail database (2026: daily reports), reports of 1 inch or more on the event's dates in the states named.

The Famous City Storms: Insured Losses

Single-storm figures from insurers and the NWS, usually insured losses in dollars of the year. Bodies and methods differ, so they are listed by date, unranked, and not comparable with the totals above.

Date	Storm	Loss as published (dollars of the year)	Who published it
May 5, 1995	Mayfest, Fort Worth: softball-size hail fell on a festival crowd; more than 400 injured	$1.1 billion insured; about $2 billion in total damage in Tarrant and Dallas counties	Insurance Council of Texas (insured); NWS Fort Worth (total)
Apr 10, 2001	Tri-State hailstorm: a 245-mile swath, up to 22 miles wide, along I-70 from southeast of Kansas City through St. Louis	$1.5 billion insured	NWS St. Louis
Jun 13, 2012	Dallas: hail up to 4.25 inches in Dallas, Collin and Fannin counties	Estimated $901 million insured (in 2013 dollars); NWS early estimate about $900 million	Insurance Council of Texas, via NWS Fort Worth
Apr 12, 2016	San Antonio: northwestern Bexar County	$1.36 billion insured (about $560 million vehicles, $800 million homes and businesses)	Insurance Council of Texas
May 8, 2017	Denver: the Front Range and Denver metro area; baseball-size hail	$2.4 billion insured (2023); $2.3 billion in May 2018, from about 167,000 auto and 100,600 homeowners claims	Rocky Mountain Insurance Association (formerly RMIIA)

Sources: NWS St. Louis and NWS Fort Worth event pages; Insurance Council of Texas (via NWS Fort Worth, Insurance Business and Business Insurance); RMIA presentation to the Colorado legislature (September 2023); RMIIA via Claims Journal (May 2018).

Tri-State, 2001. Most stones were 1 to 3 inches across; south of the largest hail, smaller stones driven by downburst winds of more than 70 mph also did considerable damage. NWS St. Louis says nearly every home and business in northern St. Louis County was damaged, plus hundreds of SUVs at a Ford plant in Hazelwood and 24 aircraft at Lambert airport. Missouri insurers took 120,000 home, 65,000 auto and 8,000 commercial claims. NWS St. Louis calls it the most costly hailstorm in US history, at $1.5 billion insured; its radar analysis found three supercells laid the swath; one high-precipitation supercell did nearly all the damage.

Mayfest, 1995. More than 10,000 people were caught in the open at Fort Worth's Mayfest when hail up to softball size fell at 7:10 pm; more than 400 were injured and 60 were hospitalised. NWS Fort Worth lists one death in western Tarrant County and fifteen in Dallas County that night, several of them people swept away by floodwater.

Denver, 2017. RMIIA's first estimate was $1.4 billion; a year later, with claims paid, it was $2.3 billion, and by 2023, $2.4 billion.

Map: Where the Costliest Hail Fell

Dark red: the 15 ranked events. Blue: the five insured-loss city storms. Teal: the 25 storm days checked against NWS warnings. Grey: SPC hail reports of 1 inch or more for older events. Orange: MESH radar hail estimate, events since 2020. Click any marker.

Open map full screen ↗

Explore the map: switch on more layers with the layers icon at the bottom right of the map: NWS severe thunderstorm and tornado warnings (ALERT) on the 25 storm days, 2016–2025, and the 719 hail reports of 1 inch or more on those days, inside and outside the warnings; NEXRAD reflectivity at peak for six storms (1995–2023); and SPC hail and wind reports for the seven also-hail-driven events, with radar hail estimates for three of them.

What the map can show, by era. MESH ("maximum expected size of hail") is a 1-km NOAA radar estimate (MODELED, not measured), publicly archived from about October 2019; older events show ground reports.

How Much Warning? NWS Warnings on the Big Hail Days

We checked 22 of the 30 hail-named events since 2016: those whose database summary places the hail in cities, counties, one or two parts of states or at a concert (the other eight name whole states, four-plus areas or "eastern Colorado"). For each, we took the day hail hit that area (25 storm days) and compared hail reports of 1 inch or larger within 60 km with NWS warnings from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet (IEM) archive. Lead time runs from a warning's issue to a report inside it.

Storm day, area; loss event (rank of 42, 2026 $)	NWS warnings (IEM)	Largest hail report (OBSERVED)	Peak MESH (MODELED)	Median lead time, min (range); reports inside a warning (ALERT)
Jun 21, 2023, Denver area (Red Rocks) #2, $5.77B	18	2 in, Red Rocks Park (estimated)	2.5 in	14 min (0–23); 26 of 29
Apr 11, 2016, Plano–Wylie #3, $4.90B	6	4.25 in, Wylie (estimated)	—	31.5 min (0–52); 36 of 37
Apr 12, 2016, San Antonio #3, $4.90B	7	4.5 in, 3 SE Helotes (measured)	—	33 min (2–58); 23 of 24
May 8, 2017, Denver #4, $4.56B	4	2.75 in, Wheat Ridge (measured)	—	19 min (0–45); 24 of 29
Jun 11, 2017, Minneapolis area #9, $3.20B	8	2 in, 2 N Somerset (estimated)	—	32 min (11–63); 20 of 23
Jun 18, 2018, Denver–Boulder #11, $2.96B	16	3 in, Superior (measured)	—	20 min (2–48); 49 of 52
Jun 19, 2018, Denver–Boulder #11, $2.96B	15 (+3 tornado)	3 in, Centennial (measured)	—	15 min (4–46); 32 of 37
Mar 23, 2016, Dallas–Fort Worth #12, $2.89B	13 (+1 tornado)	2 in, Sachse (estimated)	—	30 min (14–61); 29 of 30
May 19, 2022, southeastern Minnesota #13, $2.77B	17	1.5 in, 2 S Adams (measured)	2.5 in	18.5 min (7–35); 6 of 9
May 9, 2022, Willmar area, Minnesota #14, $2.51B	4	3 in, 4 S Willmar (measured)	3.9 in	31.5 min (10–47); 16 of 17
May 27, 2024, Dallas area #15, $2.49B	13 (+2 tornado)	3.25 in, 2 NE Arlington (estimated)	2.5 in	27 min (1–61); 91 of 93
May 28, 2024, Houston area #15, $2.49B	7	1.75 in, 3 WNW South Houston (measured)	2.1 in	30 min (20–48); 9 of 10
Mar 24, 2019, Dallas area #19, $2.01B	13	4.5 in, 5.5 SW McKinney (estimated)	—	34 min (1–66); 28 of 29
Aug 11, 2023, south-central Minnesota #21, $1.93B	12 (+1 tornado)	1.75 in, Arlington (measured)	2.8 in	29.5 min (10–37); 8 of 9
Apr 15, 2021, Austin–Georgetown #22, $1.86B	8	2.75 in, Bertram (measured)	2.9 in	22.5 min (9–48); 22 of 22
May 27, 2020, San Antonio #23, $1.82B	9 (+2 tornado)	2.5 in, 2 NNW SeaWorld (estimated)	3.4 in	35.5 min (6–63); 30 of 30
Sep 24, 2023, Austin–Georgetown #25, $1.79B	7	4 in, 1 NW Round Rock (measured)	5.3 in	37 min (7–64); 59 of 59
May 19, 2023, Collin County, Texas #26, $1.79B	10	2.5 in, 1 ENE Allen (measured)	3.1 in	18 min (0–33); 15 of 15
Jun 6, 2018 (after midnight), Dallas–Fort Worth #28, $1.73B	6	3 in, Coppell (measured)	—	36 min (6–53); 13 of 17
Jul 4, 2019, Denver–Fort Collins #33, $1.31B	13	1.5 in, Fort Lupton (measured)	—	20 min (1–31); 10 of 12
Jun 13, 2018 (after midnight), Colorado Springs #34, $1.27B	6	3 in, 3 WSW Peterson AFB (estimated)	—	18.5 min (1–45); 18 of 23
Mar 25, 2025, Dallas–Fort Worth #37, $1.22B	16	2.25 in, 2 E Parker (measured)	2.2 in	14 min (0–33); 23 of 26
Mar 8, 2025 (after midnight), Dallas–Fort Worth #38, $1.21B	4	1.75 in, 2 NNE Burleson (measured)	2.1 in	23 min (20–27); 7 of 7
Feb 21–22, 2022 (night), Denton, Collin and Wise counties #39, $1.19B	8	1.75 in, 7 ESE Decatur (estimated)	3 in	11 min (0–46); 20 of 20
Jun 1, 2025, Dallas–Fort Worth #40, $1.15B	6	3 in, 3 WSW Everman (measured)	2.9 in	22 min (0–60); 59 of 60

Sources: NWS severe thunderstorm (and tornado) warning polygons within 60 km, IEM VTEC archive; NWS Local Storm Reports (IEM) and SPC reports of hail 1 inch and larger within 60 km, convective day (12–12 UTC), each counted once. A report is warned if inside a polygon between issue and expiry (earliest warning if several). Peak MESH: highest MRMS estimate within 60 km, from October 2019. "Night": hail mostly after local midnight; "after midnight": all of it. Reports and warnings outside the loss event's dates (local time) are left out. Queried 2026-10-09.

How to read it:

Most big hail fell inside a warning. Across the 25 storm days, 673 of 719 reports of 1-inch-plus hail were inside an NWS warning; the median lead ranged from 11 to 37 minutes. Around Round Rock on September 24, 2023, all 59 reports were warned (median lead 37 minutes); in Denver on May 8, 2017, 24 of 29 (median 19 minutes).
The shortest leads. 11 minutes in Denton, Collin and Wise counties on February 21–22, 2022, and 14 minutes at Red Rocks on June 21, 2023 and in Dallas–Fort Worth on March 25, 2025. A lead of 0: warning and report in the same minute.

Hail swaths, warnings and reports in one record

DisasterAWARE Historical Event Intelligence links warnings, storm reports and radar hail swaths into event-level records for each hail event.

START FREE TRIAL →TALK TO AN EXPERT →

For Insurers and Reinsurers: Hail Is Now a Primary Driver of Property Claims

The trend is in the ranking. Of the 42 hail-named billion-dollar events, 20 have happened since 2020, against 10 in the 2010s, 5 in the 2000s, 5 in the 1990s and 2 in the 1980s. Together the 42 total $98.4 billion in 2026 dollars, and the 20 since 2020, $44.5 billion. Part of the rise is exposure: more, costlier homes, vehicles and roofs around Denver, Dallas–Fort Worth, San Antonio and the Twin Cities. The $1 billion threshold also catches more events as values rise.

One insurer's view. State Farm paid more than $5.6 billion in hail claims in 2025, an increase of more than $600 million over 2024, according to the Insurance Information Institute (Triple-I), citing State Farm's April 2026 analysis. Its top hail-claim states were Texas, Missouri, Illinois, Wisconsin and Oklahoma. NOAA's Storm Prediction Center logged 5,432 major hail events in 2025 (1 inch or larger; Texas first at 902), per the same Triple-I summary.

Why event-level data matters for hail. Three things a list of totals does not show:

The swath over exposure. A 245-mile swath along I-70 or a storm over northwest Bexar County costs far more than larger stones in open country. The 1-km MESH swath, laid over a portfolio, shows which locations were inside the 1-inch to 2.5-inch footprints.
Measured versus estimated size. An "estimated" stone size is weaker evidence than a measured one. The archive keeps that label on every report.
Late-developing losses. Denver 2017 grew from $1.4 billion to $2.3 billion insured as claims closed, and to $2.4 billion by 2023. Where and when hail fell matters for claims triage, date-of-loss checks and reserving.

DisasterAWARE's severe convective storm data links warnings to the hail reports, warning hail tags and MESH swaths inside them, at insurance thresholds. Historical Event Intelligence licenses the archive for back-testing a hail programme, building a portfolio event set or checking a claim's date of loss; the sample datasets show the record format with no signup.

Explore the historical record

Decades of reconstructed, verified catastrophes — browse the Historical Event Intelligence overview, or request sample data for your own portfolio.

HISTORICAL EVENT INTELLIGENCE →REQUEST DATA →

Frequently Asked Questions

What was the costliest hailstorm in US history? Among events the US billion-dollar disaster database names for hail: April 6–11, 2001, including the April 10 Tri-State hailstorm, at $5.85 billion in 2026 dollars. The broader March 12–14, 2024 severe-weather event, with major hail, cost more ($6.51 billion), but that total includes tornado and wind damage. The largest single-city insured loss in our list is Denver's May 8, 2017 storm: $2.4 billion (RMIA, 2023).

What was the worst hail storm in Texas history? By cost, the April 10–12, 2016 hailstorms that hit Plano, Wylie, Frisco, Allen and San Antonio: $4.90 billion in 2026 dollars, third nationally. San Antonio's April 12 storm alone caused $1.36 billion in insured losses, the Texas record at the time (Insurance Council of Texas), ahead of Fort Worth's 1995 Mayfest at $1.1 billion.

What was the worst hail storm in Colorado history? The Denver hailstorm of May 8, 2017: $2.4 billion insured, Colorado's most costly hailstorm (RMIA, 2023). In total cost, the June 21–26, 2023 Rockies hailstorms were higher ($5.77 billion against $4.56 billion, 2026 dollars), but that event includes severe weather farther east.

How much damage does a hail storm cause? The 42 events in our ranking cost $1.10 billion to $5.85 billion each in 2026 dollars. Most damage is to roofs, siding, windows and vehicles: San Antonio's 2016 storm was about $800 million to homes and businesses and $560 million to vehicles.

What is the largest hailstone ever recorded in the US? An 8-inch stone at Vivian, South Dakota, on July 23, 2010. See Largest Hailstones Ever Recorded for every state's record.