57
Recorded events
0
Direct deaths
0
Direct injuries
$440K
Property damage
Hail in Ballard County, Kentucky: 57 recorded events between 1967 and 2025. The strongest on record measured 4.5. That places the county #2,095 nationally and #45 statewide for this hazard.
Decade by decade
Hail in Ballard County, Kentucky: events per decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
The busiest decade for hail in Ballard County is the 2000s, when 19 of the county's 57 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 Ballard County archive, hail makes up 18.4% of all recorded severe weather across 8 hazard types. Nationally the county sits at #2,095 for this hazard and #45 within Kentucky, putting it in the 32.6 percentile of all U.S. counties.
Seasonality
Events by month
May is the peak month for hail in Ballard County with 19 recorded events, while Oct 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| May 16, 2025 | LA CENTER | 2.75 | $30K |
| May 16, 2025 | GUM CORNERS | 4.5 | $300K |
| Jul 20, 2023 | BANDANA | 1 | $0 |
| Jul 18, 2023 | BLANDVILLE | 1.5 | $0 |
| May 7, 2023 | BANDANA | 1 | $0 |
| May 7, 2023 | WICKLIFFE | 1 | $0 |
| Dec 6, 2021 | GAGE | 0.75 | $0 |
| Mar 3, 2020 | GAGE | 0.75 | $0 |
| Mar 3, 2020 | GAGE | 0.75 | $0 |
| Mar 2, 2020 | LA CENTER | 1 | $0 |
Other hazards here
More from Ballard County
- Thunderstorm Wind 135
- Flood 50
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
Many reports and pictures of large hail came in from the town of Barlow and just south of it including the largest hailstones estimated at grapefruit size on Circle Drive east of Barlow (4.5'', public report) and just above softball size south of town on Hartman Ln (4.25'', public report). Numerous photos and reports from emergency management and the public of additional hailstones ranged from ping pong ball to baseball size. Many windows were broken as a result of these very large hailstones along with damage to gutters, roof, vehicles, and siding.
A small pocket of intense hail damaged corn crops off Highway 286. The leaves of the stalks were shredded. Agricultural experts determined that the reduction in yields would be only about 10 percent because of the early stage of the crop's growth.
Very large hail struck parts of central Ballard County. At Barlow, a photo was taken of a hailstone measuring 3.4 inches in diameter. The hailstone was spiked in appearance. A couple miles south-southeast of La Center, a photo of quarter-size hail was posted on social media.
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many hail events are on record in Ballard County, Kentucky?
57 hail events are recorded in Ballard County between 1967 and 2025, causing 0 direct deaths.
What is the strongest hail recorded in Ballard County?
The strongest hail on record in Ballard County measured 4.5.
Where does the hail data for Ballard 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 Ballard County, Kentucky.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/kentucky/ballard-county/hail/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.