Hail in Wisconsin — where it hits, county by county
Hail is a fact of life on Wisconsin ground — 787 National Weather Service hail reports in the last 5 years, led by Dane County, peaking around April. 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 Wisconsin →Top hail counties in Wisconsin (2022–2026)
| County | Reports | Avg/yr | Peak month | % damaging (≥1.5″) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dane | 237 | 47.4 | Apr | 36% |
| Marathon | 90 | 18.0 | May | 18% |
| La Crosse | 90 | 18.0 | Jul | 30% |
| Brown | 75 | 15.0 | Jun | 11% |
| Waukesha | 71 | 14.2 | Apr | 17% |
| Grant | 62 | 12.4 | Apr | 26% |
| Milwaukee | 42 | 8.4 | May | 5% |
| Jefferson | 42 | 8.4 | Apr | 26% |
| Rock | 40 | 8.0 | Apr | 48% |
| St. Croix | 38 | 7.6 | Jun | 18% |
Wisconsin hail — the questions people ask
Where does it hail the most in Wisconsin?
By reported hail over the last 5 years, the most active counties in Wisconsin are Dane, Marathon, La Crosse. 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 Wisconsin?
Reported hail in Wisconsin peaks around April, with most activity in the spring-through-midsummer window. Any single year can break the pattern.
How much of Wisconsin'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 787 reports over 5 years.