California Hail Statistics

California averages 5.6 reports of 1-inch or larger hail a year, on 9.0 hail days. That ranks 44th of 51 and is under 1% of all such reports in the US. Hail peaks in March.

Data: NOAA Storm Events, 2021–2025 yearly averages

5.6Reports of 1-inch+ hail a year, 44th most

9.0Hail days a year, 37th most

1.75 inLargest stone reported, June 5, 2023

When hail falls in California

15.0 hail reports a year in all, none of them 2 inches or larger.
The most reports of 1-inch+ hail: San Bernardino County, about 0.8 a year.
The most reports come in March; nationally the peak is May.

Share of California hail reports by month, 2021–2025.

Hail by county in California

31 counties with at least one hail report, 2021–2025. Yearly averages, sorted by 1-inch+ reports. More people means more reports, so populous counties tend to rank higher.

Hail statistics by county in California. Column headers sort the table.

San Bernardino	0.8	1.6	1.4	1.00 in
Los Angeles	0.8	1.0	0.6	1.00 in
Riverside	0.4	1.2	0.8	1.00 in
Glenn	0.4	0.6	0.4	1.00 in
Tehama	0.4	0.6	0.4	1.00 in
San Joaquin	0.4	0.4	0.2	1.00 in
Madera	0.4	0.4	0.4	1.00 in
Kern	0.4	0.4	0.2	1.75 in
San Diego	0.2	1.8	1.2	1.00 in
El Dorado	0.2	0.6	0.4	1.00 in
Placer	0.2	0.4	0.4	1.00 in
Lassen	0.2	0.2	0.2	1.25 in
Tuolumne	0.2	0.2	0.2	1.00 in
Fresno	0.2	0.2	0.2	1.00 in
Mariposa	0.2	0.2	0.2	1.00 in
Trinity	0.2	0.2	0.2	1.00 in
Humboldt	0.0	0.8	0.8	0.25 in
Santa Clara	0.0	0.6	0.4	0.25 in
Santa Cruz	0.0	0.6	0.4	0.25 in
San Francisco	0.0	0.4	0.4	0.25 in
Monterey	0.0	0.4	0.4	0.25 in
Alameda	0.0	0.4	0.4	0.25 in
Sonoma	0.0	0.2	0.2	0.25 in
Marin	0.0	0.2	0.2	0.25 in
Lake	0.0	0.2	0.2	0.75 in
Del Norte	0.0	0.2	0.2	0.25 in
Butte	0.0	0.2	0.2	0.75 in
Nevada	0.0	0.2	0.2	0.25 in
Tulare	0.0	0.2	0.2	0.75 in
San Mateo	0.0	0.2	0.2	0.25 in
Mono	0.0	0.2	0.2	0.25 in

About these numbers

Hail reports from the NOAA Storm Events Database, 2021–2025, averaged per year. These are reports to the National Weather Service, not every storm: places with more people report more hail. Full methodology.

Cite: Home Stats Data, "California Hail Statistics," https://homestatsdata.com/storm-risk/hail-statistics/california/