Texas Hail Storms

Losses, 2024 dollars

$1.7 billion

Losses at the time

$1.6 billion

Deaths

0

The losses and deaths are NCEI’s, counting everything the disaster did. The episodes below are only what the Weather Service filed in its Storm Events record, which counts damage differently and often not at all, so the two never add up and are shown apart.

• Hail in Nebraska, May 16, 20231 in hail · 1 eventIsolated thunderstorms developed over northeastern Colorado during the afternoon hours of May 16th. As they tracked east, they became severe as they approached Chase County. Hail up to one inch in diameter was reported in western Chase County.
• Damaging Wind in Nebraska, May 16, 202359 kt wind · 1 eventA thunderstorm was moving southeast across Dundy County. As it moved into Northwest Kansas it produced wind gusts up to 68 MPH near Haigler.
• Flash Flooding and Heavy Rain in Virginia, May 16 to 17, 202310 eventsScattered thunderstorms along a frontal boundary produced heavy rain which caused flash flooding across portions of central and south central Virginia.
• Hail and Damaging Winds in Kansas, May 16, 20231 in hail · 5 eventsDuring the afternoon a thunderstorm moved southeast out of Nebraska into Northwest Kansas. The thunderstorm had produced severe wind gusts near Haigler, and continued to produce them as it moved southeast. A peak gust of 67 MPH was measured near St. Francis.
• Hail and Damaging Winds in Virginia, May 16, 2023$10,000 · 1 in hail · 7 eventsScattered severe thunderstorms along a frontal boundary produced damaging winds and large hail across portions of central and south central Virginia.
• Damaging Wind in North Carolina, May 16, 2023$1,000 · 50 kt wind · 1 eventIsolated severe thunderstorm along a frontal boundary produced damaging winds across portions of northeast North Carolina.
• Damaging Wind in Montana, May 17, 202356 kt wind · 1 eventA passing cold front generated some showers and thunderstorms that produced an outflow boundary with some strong winds.
• Flash Flood and Flood in American Samoa, May 17, 2023$260,000 · 2 eventsA strong trough moved over the American Samoa islands on May 17th to cause widespread flash flooding in the region.
• Flash Flood and Damaging Winds in Alabama, May 17, 202352 kt wind · 8 eventsStrong storms developed across southwest Alabama during the afternoon and produced several reports of damage.
• Hail and Damaging Winds in Florida, May 17, 202350 kt wind · 5 eventsAn upper-level trough was across the eastern US with unsettled SW steering flow over the local forecast area.
• Hail in Wyoming, May 17, 20231 in hail · 2 eventsA severe thunderstorm developed over northwestern Natrona County and became severe as it moved southeastward.
• Hail in South Dakota, May 17, 20231 in hail · 1 eventA thunderstorm briefly became severe over far southeastern Fall River County, producing hail around quarter size southeast of Oelrichs.
• Hail in Arizona, May 17, 20231.5 in hail · 2 eventsAn unusually moist pattern for mid-May was in place over Arizona with precipitable water values around 200-250% of normal. This allowed for the development of strong to severe thunderstorms. Two thunderstorms produced severe hail on May 17 in different counties.
• Hail in Nebraska, May 17, 20231 in hail · 1 eventA cold front, tracking through western Nebraska, led to the development of thunderstorms during the afternoon and evening hours of May 17th. Some severe storms impacted northern Sheridan County where wind gusts up to 60 MPH and quarter size hail was reported.
• Hail and Damaging Winds in South Carolina, May 17, 20231 in hail · 3 eventsA line of strong thunderstorms developed in the vicinity of a nearby front during the late afternoon hours across southeast South Carolina. These thunderstorms produced several instances of large hail and strong wind gusts.
• Damaging Wind in South Dakota, May 17, 202352 kt wind · 1 eventA thunderstorm briefly became severe over northeastern Jackson County, producing wind gusts to 60 mph in the Belvidere area.
• Hail in Mississippi, May 17, 20231 in hail · 1 eventStrong storms developed across southeast Mississippi during the afternoon and produced large hail.
• Hail in Texas, May 17, 20231.75 in hail · 4 eventsA line of thunderstorms developed across the western Oklahoma and Texas Panhandles during the afternoon of the 17th. East of this line was some unstable air where a discrete storm developed and dropped large hail over portions of northern Gray County.
• Hail in Colorado, May 17, 20231 in hail · 2 eventsIn the late afternoon a thunderstorms were forming in northeast Colorado and moving southeast. As these storms moved through Yuma county, 1 inch hail was reported.
• Damaging Wind in Arizona, May 17, 202352 kt wind · 1 eventScattered thunderstorms developed and moved east across parts of southeast Arizona from Tucson north and eastward. Storms produced gusty winds, heavy rain and brief street flooding in the Safford area.
• Tornado and Damaging Wind in Wyoming, May 18, 202352 kt wind · 2 eventsA few strong to locally severe thunderstorms occurred across southeast Wyoming during the late morning and early afternoon hours on 5/18. Notable weather events included a landspout tornado northeast of Laramie, and strong thunderstorm wind gusts near the city of Pine Bluffs.
• Flash Flood in New Mexico, May 18, 20231 eventNear-record to record level moisture over parts of the region allowed for scattered to numerous storms to develop over the Sangre de Cristo Mountains on May 18, 2023.
• Flash Flooding and Hail in Alabama, May 18, 2023$6,000 · 1 in hail · 6 eventsAn upper level trough of low pressure combined with a moist and unstable airmass triggered scattered to numerous thunderstorms during the afternoon hours. A few of the thunderstorms produced intense downpours, resulting in rain amounts of 2-3 inches in less than an hour.
• Flash Flooding and Hail in Texas, May 18, 20231.5 in hail · 5 eventsA shortwave trough ejecting out of northern Mexico and a Pacific Front aided in the development of scattered thunderstorms across much of the region. Strong to severe thunderstorms with large hail and flash flooding impacted portions of the Permian Basin.
• Hail and Damaging Wind in Florida, May 18, 202350 kt wind · 4 eventsUnsettled WSW steering flow and elevated moisture of 1.7 inches across SE GA and portions of N Florida triggered scattered strong to isolated severe storms during the afternoon and evening along sea breeze and boundary collisions over an unstable low level airmass.
• Hail in Florida, May 18, 20231 in hail · 2 eventsStrong storms produced severe hail near Lake Helen in Volusia County and near the Orlando Executive Airport.
• Tornado and Flash Flooding in Texas, May 18, 2023$31,000 · EF0 · 20 eventsDuring the afternoon of the 18th, quite a bit of moisture and unstable air was present across the combined Oklahoma and Texas Panhandle. During the heat of the day several supercell thunderstorms created large hail, up to 2.5 in diameter, heavy rain, and damaging wind gusts.
• Hail in Texas, May 18, 20230.88 in hail · 1 eventWidespread convection, fostered by a subtropical shortwave trough, developed from the High Plains into western-north Texas during the afternoon of the 18th. Sub-severe hail was reported with a storm across portions of Clay County, Texas.
• Flash Flooding and Hail in Tennessee, May 18, 2023$500,000 · 1 in hail · 3 eventsA weak upper-level low moved over Middle Tennessee on May 18, 2023. This combined with plenty of moisture and diurnal heating allowed for scattered showers and thunderstorms during the afternoon and evening hours.
• Damaging Wind in Alabama, May 18, 2023$2,000 · 50 kt wind · 1 eventScattered thunderstorms developed across the region with one report of a tree down in Dale county.
• Flash Flood in Texas, May 18, 20231 eventIsolated thunderstorm moved into the northern part of the city of Laredo during the evening of the 18th. Locally heavy rainfall produced street flooding.
• Damaging Wind in Texas, May 18, 202351 kt wind · 1 eventAmple moisture and lift from a weak short wave combined to generate scattered thunderstorms over the central and southern Texas Panhandle on the afternoon and evening of the 18th. Numerous severe storms were reported in the central Texas Panhandle with this activity.
• Flash Flooding and Heavy Rain in North Carolina, May 19, 2023$72,000 · 11 eventsAn area of low pressure off the Cape Fear coast lead to very heavy rainfall in parts of southeast NC.
• Tornado and Hail in Oklahoma, May 19, 2023EF0 · 2 eventsAs a shortwave trough (and associated area of low pressure) advanced towards the Ozarks, widespread convection developed across eastern into southeastern Oklahoma. This included a severe thunderstorm that produced large hail across eastern Bryan County, Oklahoma.
• Flash Flooding and Flooding in Puerto Rico, May 19, 2023$7,000 · 4 eventsHigher than normal moisture content and east to southeasterly winds, combined with local and diurnal effects, led to the development of thunderstorms over the San Juan metro area on May 19th.
• Hail and Damaging Wind in New Mexico, May 19, 20231.75 in hail · 3 eventsStrong to severe storms developed over the high plains of east-central and southeastern NM during the afternoon of May 19, 2023. One of these storms passed over the Lake Arthur area south of Roswell in south-central Chaves County.
• Hail in Oklahoma, May 19, 2023$55,000 · 1.75 in hail · 2 eventsSevere thunderstorms developed across portions of southeastern Oklahoma during the early afternoon of the 19th, along an outflow boundary that settled into the area from thunderstorms that occurred to the north during the morning.
• Hail and Damaging Winds in Texas, May 19, 2023$1.3 billion · 2.5 in hail · 25 eventsShowers and thunderstorms developed near a cold front across portions of North and Central Texas during the afternoon and evening hours. Some of these storms produced large hail and damaging winds.
• Hail and Damaging Wind in Florida, May 19, 202356 kt wind · 2 eventsShortwave troughs crossing the region, and cooler temperatures aloft, led to the ideal environment for an active afternoon and evening on May 19th with widespread showers and thunderstorms.
• Flash Flooding and Heavy Rain in Arizona, May 19 to 23, 20235 eventsAn unusually moist pattern for mid-May was in place over Arizona with precipitable water values around 200-250% of normal. This allowed for the development of strong thunderstorms with heavy rain and flooding.
• Flash Flooding and Flood in Texas, May 19, 20231.5 in hail · 19 eventsThe combination of a cold front moving south and moderate to strong instability resulted in scattered thunderstorms across the Concho Valley and Heartland. A few storms were severe with large hail and damaging winds.
• Flash Flooding and Hail in Texas, May 19 to 20, 2023$10,000 · 1.75 in hail · 12 eventsA large western US trough brought continued lee troughing to the Great Plains. This active pattern provided ample wind shear and instability for severe weather.
• Hail and Damaging Winds in Oregon, May 19, 20231.25 in hail · 6 eventsA broad southwesterly flow pattern advected a plume of mid-level moisture over the region resulted in strong diurnal convection initiating over elevated terrain features in central Oregon and the Washington Cascades initially before progressing northeastward.
• Damaging Winds in Arkansas, May 19, 202361 kt wind · 4 eventsStrong to severe thunderstorms developed across portions of northwest Arkansas during the early evening of the 19th, as a cold front moved into the area. The strongest storms produced damaging wind gusts.
• Damaging Winds in Arkansas, May 19, 202355 kt wind · 4 eventsA cold front approached the Arkansas/Oklahoma border during the day on May 19th. Ahead of this cold front, would be an unsettled and unstable airmass that would result in several severe thunderstorms that produced wind damage across western Arkansas.
• Damaging Wind in Texas, May 19, 202352 kt wind · 1 eventOn the morning of the 19th, a cold front moved through the area shifting winds to the northeast across the region into eastern New Mexico. Thunderstorms initially developed on the higher terrain of eastern New Mexico where low level upslope flow was maximized.
• Flash Flood and Damaging Wind in Arizona, May 19, 2023$1,000 · 2 eventsAn upper-level low pressure system situated near the northern Baja Peninsula aided in bringing in abnormally high moisture content into south-central and southwest AZ. Precipitable water values of approximately 1 were observed, which for mid-May is a record.
• Flash Flood and Hail in Texas, May 19 to 20, 20232 in hail · 2 eventsThunderstorms developed along a trough ahead of a cold front. One of these storms produced large hail. More storms formed along the cold front some of which produced locally heavy rain that led to flash flooding.
• Hail in New Mexico, May 19, 20231 in hail · 1 eventA large western US trough brought continued lee troughing to the Great Plains. This active pattern provided ample wind shear and instability for severe weather.
• Flash Flooding in Utah, May 20, 20232 deaths · $500 · 2 eventsThunderstorms across the region resulted in hazardous conditions developing in area slot canyons and typically dry washes. The Buckskin Gulch slot canyon had a flood wave develop, with subsequent fatalities associated with the flood.
• Flash Flood and Flooding in Washington, May 20 to 21, 2023$2,000 · 1.75 in hail · 11 eventsA passing cold front brought more thunderstorms to Eastern Washington. The impacts again included hail, lightning, winds, and flooding from heavy rain.
• Flash Flood and Hail in New Mexico, May 20, 20231 in hail · 2 eventsA persistent period of above normal moisture produced another day of scattered to numerous thunderstorms over northern and central NM. A few of these storms produced large hail and locally heavy rainfall.
• Flash Flooding and Flooding in California, May 20 to 23, 2023$99,000 · 50 kt wind · 11 eventsAbnormal late-May moisture and weak instability fueled scattered thunderstorms over the Mojave Desert. Flash flooding and isolated severe weather occurred.
• Damaging Winds in Nevada, May 20 to 21, 202381 kt wind · 4 eventsAbnormal late-May moisture and weak instability fueled scattered thunderstorms over the Mojave Desert. Several storms produced high winds.

Every billion-dollar disasterEvery storm of 2023Tornadoes in 2023

NOAA NCEI, U.S. Billion-Dollar Weather and Climate Disasters (2025), https://doi.org/10.25921/stkw-7w73, and the Storm Events Database for the episodes.