214
Recorded events
0
Direct deaths
0
Direct injuries
$152K
Property damage
Hail in Richland County, Montana: 214 recorded events between 1956 and 2025. The strongest on record measured 2.5. That places the county #557 nationally and #16 statewide for this hazard.
Decade by decade
Hail in Richland County, Montana: events per decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
The busiest decade for hail in Richland County is the 2010s, when 84 of the county's 214 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 Richland County archive, hail makes up 43.6% of all recorded severe weather across 9 hazard types. Nationally the county sits at #557 for this hazard and #16 within Montana, putting it in the 82.2 percentile of all U.S. counties.
Seasonality
Events by month
Jun is the peak month for hail in Richland County with 89 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 8, 2025 | LAMBERT | 1 | $0 |
| May 17, 2024 | SIOUX PASS DOT | 1.25 | $0 |
| Jul 31, 2023 | ENID | 1 | $0 |
| Jul 8, 2021 | FAIRVIEW | 1.75 | $0 |
| Jul 8, 2021 | FAIRVIEW | 1.5 | $0 |
| Jul 8, 2021 | FAIRVIEW | 1.75 | $0 |
| Jul 8, 2021 | FAIRVIEW | 1.5 | $0 |
| Jun 11, 2021 | LAMBERT | 1.5 | $0 |
| Jun 11, 2021 | CRANE | 1.75 | $0 |
| Jun 10, 2021 | SIDNEY | 2 | $0 |
Other hazards here
More from Richland County
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
Nickel to quarter hail covered the ground. Thunderstorm winds estimated at 80 mph accompanied the hail and caused significant crop damage and some damage to windows and roofs on area farms. See entire episode narrative for full details.
Reports from spotters, the public and emergency management indicate a very large area of significant crop loss about 5-10 miles either side of the line indicated. Combined with some winds of up to 118 mph (estimated based on the damage photos), the hail and wind destroyed a large area of crops. There are no good estimates of loss, but the few farmers we did speak to told us they lost thousands of acres, totaling in the millions of dollars of crop loss.
At 1842 MST 1 mile southwest of Sidney, hail ranged from pea to quarter size. At 1845 MST in Sidney, County Emergency Manager reported 1.5 inch hail. At 1855 MST, 10 miles north-northeast of Sidney 1 inch hail along with heavy rain fell. This storm also damaged the sugar beet crop in the Yellowstone Valley in and north of Fairview. The crop's leaves were damaged which significantly reduces the ability for the plant to produce sugar (as much of it's energy goes into repairing the leaves).
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many hail events are on record in Richland County, Montana?
214 hail events are recorded in Richland County between 1956 and 2025, causing 0 direct deaths.
What is the strongest hail recorded in Richland County?
The strongest hail on record in Richland County measured 2.5.
Where does the hail data for Richland 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 Richland County, Montana.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/montana/richland-county/hail/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.