Hail in Minnesota — where it hits, county by county
Hail is a fact of life on Minnesota ground — 746 National Weather Service hail reports in the last 5 years, led by St. Louis County, peaking around June. The table below ranks the counties; the interactive national map shows exactly where, year by year. Checking a specific address? The map’s search box pulls every dated report within 25 miles.
Open the interactive map on Minnesota →Top hail counties in Minnesota (2022–2026)
| County | Reports | Avg/yr | Peak month | % damaging (≥1.5″) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| St. Louis | 141 | 28.2 | Jun | 23% |
| Hennepin | 72 | 14.4 | Aug | 39% |
| CROW WING | 69 | 13.8 | Jun | 16% |
| Itasca | 67 | 13.4 | Jun | 22% |
| Ramsey | 57 | 11.4 | Jun | 21% |
| ST. LOUIS | 55 | 11.0 | May | 16% |
| OLMSTED | 50 | 10.0 | May | 10% |
| Winona | 48 | 9.6 | Jul | 44% |
| CASS | 47 | 9.4 | May | 11% |
| ITASCA | 47 | 9.4 | May | 21% |
| Crow Wing | 47 | 9.4 | Jul | 17% |
| Cass | 46 | 9.2 | Jun | 30% |
Minnesota hail — the questions people ask
Where does it hail the most in Minnesota?
By reported hail over the last 5 years, the most active counties in Minnesota are St. Louis, Hennepin, CROW WING. Reports track population and spotter coverage as well as storms, so rural corridors can be under-counted; the persistent leaders on this table are real hail geography.
When is hail season in Minnesota?
Reported hail in Minnesota peaks around June, with most activity in the spring-through-midsummer window. Any single year can break the pattern.
How much of Minnesota's hail is damaging?
On this page, damaging means reported stones of 1.5″ or larger — the size that reliably dents roofs and vehicles and strips crops. The per-county damaging share is in the table; statewide, hail of any size totaled 746 reports over 5 years.