Hail in North Carolina — where it hits, county by county
North Carolina logged 240 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 North Carolina →Top hail counties in North Carolina (2022–2026)
| County | Reports | Avg/yr | Peak month | % damaging (≥1.5″) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wake | 29 | 5.8 | May | 3% |
| Guilford | 23 | 4.6 | Mar | 26% |
| WAKE | 22 | 4.4 | May | 14% |
| Buncombe | 22 | 4.4 | May | 27% |
| WILKES | 21 | 4.2 | May | 0% |
| Wilkes | 20 | 4.0 | May | 10% |
| ROCKINGHAM | 19 | 3.8 | May | 21% |
| SURRY | 18 | 3.6 | Apr | 6% |
| McDowell | 18 | 3.6 | Jul | 11% |
| PITT | 16 | 3.2 | May | 6% |
| Rutherford | 16 | 3.2 | May | 19% |
| Onslow | 16 | 3.2 | May | 19% |
North Carolina hail — the questions people ask
Where does it hail the most in North Carolina?
By reported hail over the last 5 years, the most active counties in North Carolina are Wake, Guilford, WAKE. 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 North Carolina?
Reported hail in North Carolina peaks around May, with most activity in the spring-through-midsummer window. Any single year can break the pattern.
How much of North Carolina'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 240 reports over 5 years.