356
Recorded events
0
Direct deaths
0
Direct injuries
$1.1M
Property damage
Hail in Hitchcock County, Nebraska: 356 recorded events between 1957 and 2025. The strongest on record measured 4.5. That places the county #217 nationally and #14 statewide for this hazard.
Decade by decade
Hail in Hitchcock County, Nebraska: events per decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
The busiest decade for hail in Hitchcock County is the 2000s, when 108 of the county's 356 recorded events were logged. Comparing decades is useful for spotting active periods, but the earliest years are thin because systematic reporting for this hazard began later.
Within the Hitchcock County archive, hail makes up 64.4% of all recorded severe weather across 7 hazard types. Nationally the county sits at #217 for this hazard and #14 within Nebraska, putting it in the 93.1 percentile of all U.S. counties.
Seasonality
Events by month
May is the peak month for hail in Hitchcock County with 91 recorded events, while Jan is the quietest. Seasonality here is a property of the archive as much as the climate: reports cluster where population and spotter networks are densest.
Most recent
Latest recorded events
| Date | Location | Magnitude | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 17, 2025 | TRENTON ARPT | 1.75 | $0 |
| Sep 17, 2025 | TRENTON ARPT | 1.5 | $0 |
| Sep 17, 2025 | STRATTON | 1 | $0 |
| Sep 16, 2025 | BEVERLY | 1 | $0 |
| Aug 3, 2025 | STRATTON | 1.5 | $0 |
| Jul 29, 2025 | STRATTON | 0.75 | $0 |
| Jul 21, 2025 | STRATTON | 1.75 | $0 |
| Jul 20, 2025 | PALISADE | 0.88 | $0 |
| May 19, 2025 | TRENTON | 0.75 | $0 |
| May 19, 2025 | STRATTON | 2 | $0 |
Other hazards here
More from Hitchcock County
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
A hail swath four to nine-miles wide occurred from northwest to southeast across the county. Approximately 20,000 acres of wheat and 6,000 acres of corn were damaged. The damage was estimated at $4 million. The hail broke windows on several farmsteads east of Stratton. At Swanson Lake the hail damaged mobile homes, pontoons, and boats.
A severe thunderstorm produced an eight mile wide path of hail and wind damage across Hitchcock County. Hail up to dime-size was blown into drifts up to three feet high. Approximately 6,500 acres of corn, 1,500 acres of milo, 1,000 acres of sunflowers and about 1,500 acres of other crops were damaged. Numerous farm houses and buildings received roof damage and had windows broken. The strong winds also knocked down trees and power lines.
An intense, slow-moving thunderstorm produced pea to penny sized hail for approximately 45 minutes, resulting in a hail depth of 18 inches. Hail was still a foot deep the following morning. The storm also produced four inches of rain in about an hour.
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many hail events are on record in Hitchcock County, Nebraska?
356 hail events are recorded in Hitchcock County between 1957 and 2025, causing 0 direct deaths.
What is the strongest hail recorded in Hitchcock County?
The strongest hail on record in Hitchcock County measured 4.5.
Where does the hail data for Hitchcock County come from?
All events come from the NOAA/NCEI Storm Events Database, the federal public-domain archive of severe weather reports. Dates are UTC, damage is as reported and not inflation-adjusted, and the most recent entries may still be revised.
Cite this page
“Hail in Hitchcock County, Nebraska.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/nebraska/hitchcock-county/hail/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.