Hail in New Hampshire — where it hits, county by county
New Hampshire logged 201 National Weather Service hail reports over the last 5 years — meaningful but not hail-alley volume. 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 New Hampshire →Top hail counties in New Hampshire (2022–2026)
| County | Reports | Avg/yr | Peak month | % damaging (≥1.5″) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cheshire | 33 | 6.6 | Aug | 15% |
| Hillsborough | 31 | 6.2 | Aug | 10% |
| Merrimack | 22 | 4.4 | Jun | 27% |
| Grafton | 19 | 3.8 | Jun | 26% |
| Sullivan | 16 | 3.2 | Jun | 19% |
| CHESHIRE | 14 | 2.8 | Jul | 21% |
| CARROLL | 14 | 2.8 | Jun | 29% |
| COOS | 12 | 2.4 | May | 42% |
| ROCKINGHAM | 12 | 2.4 | Sep | 0% |
| Rockingham | 10 | 2.0 | Jun | 30% |
| Coos | 9 | 1.8 | Apr | 22% |
| Strafford | 9 | 1.8 | Aug | 22% |
New Hampshire hail — the questions people ask
Where does it hail the most in New Hampshire?
By reported hail over the last 5 years, the most active counties in New Hampshire are Cheshire, Hillsborough, Merrimack. 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 New Hampshire?
Reported hail in New Hampshire peaks around June, with most activity in the spring-through-midsummer window. Any single year can break the pattern.
How much of New Hampshire'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 201 reports over 5 years.