Hail in Montana — where it hits, county by county
Hail is a fact of life on Montana ground — 448 National Weather Service hail reports in the last 5 years, led by Yellowstone 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 Montana →Top hail counties in Montana (2022–2026)
| County | Reports | Avg/yr | Peak month | % damaging (≥1.5″) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Yellowstone | 77 | 15.4 | Jun | 17% |
| YELLOWSTONE | 58 | 11.6 | Jul | 24% |
| CASCADE | 43 | 8.6 | Jul | 40% |
| Cascade | 39 | 7.8 | Jun | 8% |
| Lewis and Clark | 33 | 6.6 | Aug | 3% |
| Fergus | 32 | 6.4 | Jun | 31% |
| Powder River | 32 | 6.4 | Jun | 31% |
| Big Horn | 31 | 6.2 | Jun | 32% |
| Carter | 28 | 5.6 | Jun | 43% |
| Gallatin | 27 | 5.4 | Jul | 19% |
| Custer | 25 | 5.0 | Jun | 16% |
| Fallon | 23 | 4.6 | Jun | 30% |
Montana hail — the questions people ask
Where does it hail the most in Montana?
By reported hail over the last 5 years, the most active counties in Montana are Yellowstone, YELLOWSTONE, CASCADE. 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 Montana?
Reported hail in Montana peaks around June, with most activity in the spring-through-midsummer window. Any single year can break the pattern.
How much of Montana'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 448 reports over 5 years.