Hail in McDowell County, North Carolina

Hail in McDowell County, North Carolina: 141 recorded events between 1974 and 2026. The strongest on record measured 2.5. That places the county #995 nationally and #21 statewide for this hazard.

Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.

The busiest decade for hail in McDowell County is the 2010s, when 54 of the county's 141 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 McDowell County archive, hail makes up 34.0% of all recorded severe weather across 9 hazard types. Nationally the county sits at #995 for this hazard and #21 within North Carolina, putting it in the 67.9 percentile of all U.S. counties.

Jun is the peak month for hail in McDowell County with 49 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.

• Thunderstorm Wind 201

How many hail events are on record in McDowell County, North Carolina?

141 hail events are recorded in McDowell County between 1974 and 2026, causing 0 direct deaths.

What is the strongest hail recorded in McDowell County?

The strongest hail on record in McDowell County measured 2.5.

Where does the hail data for McDowell 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.