Smith County, KS hail & severe wind history
148 storm reports on file for Smith County between 2010-06-19 and 2025-08-09 — 79 hail and 69 severe thunderstorm wind. That averages 9.3 reports a year, and May is the busiest month.
At a glance
- Most recent hail report: Jun 7, 2024 — 1.25" (half dollar), 5.55 mi N of Lebanon.
- Hail was reported on 48 days since 2010 — about 3.0 hail days a year.
- Largest hail on record: 2.75" (baseball) on Aug 9, 2014.
- Smith County has more hail reports than 19% of the 105 Kansas counties we cover.
Search every Smith County report
Check a single date first, or filter the full record below — pick a year, narrow to a month, or drag the hail-size slider to see only the larger stones (1", quarter size, is the National Weather Service severe threshold).
Loading Smith County storm reports…
Worst storm days in Smith County
| Date | Reports that day | Largest hail | Peak gust |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2014-08-09 | 7 | 2.75" (baseball) | 81 mph |
| 2013-06-16 | 6 | — | 70 mph |
| 2015-05-29 | 5 | 1.75" (golf ball) | 72 mph |
| 2022-06-12 | 4 | 1.75" (golf ball) | 70 mph |
| 2016-06-03 | 4 | 1.75" (golf ball) | 60 mph |
| 2014-06-14 | 4 | 1" (quarter) | 81 mph |
| 2012-05-27 | 3 | 2" (hen egg) | — |
| 2024-05-06 | 3 | 1.75" (golf ball) | — |
| 2023-07-16 | 3 | 1.75" (golf ball) | — |
| 2018-05-01 | 3 | 1.75" (golf ball) | — |
Reports by year
Report counts are driven partly by how many people were around to report a storm, so recent years tend to look busier than the early 2010s. Treat the trend as a reporting trend, not purely a weather trend.
Notable large-hail events (2" and up)
| Date | Size | Near | What was reported |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021-05-08 | 2" hen egg | 0 mi N of Smith Center | Hail ranging anywhere from pea size to 2 inches in diameter was reported in Smith Center from a number of sources. |
| 2021-05-05 | 2" hen egg | 12 mi NNW of Lebanon | No narrative filed |
| 2017-10-01 | 2" hen egg | 0 mi N of Kensington | Hail ranging in size from golf balls to hen eggs was reported in and near Kensington. |
| 2014-08-09 | 2.75" baseball | 2 mi S of Lebanon | No narrative filed |
| 2012-05-27 | 2" hen egg | 4 mi N of Athol | No narrative filed |
When does hail hit Smith County?
Across 16 years of records, May produced the most reports (44), followed by the months either side of it. Monthly totals:
| Month | Reports | Share |
|---|---|---|
| January | 0 | 0.0% |
| February | 0 | 0.0% |
| March | 3 | 2.0% |
| April | 14 | 9.5% |
| May | 44 | 29.7% |
| June | 35 | 23.6% |
| July | 22 | 14.9% |
| August | 21 | 14.2% |
| September | 5 | 3.4% |
| October | 3 | 2.0% |
| November | 0 | 0.0% |
| December | 1 | 0.7% |
Neighboring counties
Counties that share a border with Smith County (U.S. Census county adjacency), where we have storm records:
| County | Storm reports | Largest hail |
|---|---|---|
| Phillips County, KS | 242 | 4.25" |
| Rooks County, KS | 209 | 4.25" |
| Jewell County, KS | 204 | 5.25" |
| Osborne County, KS | 193 | 3" |
| Webster County, NE | 155 | 2.75" |
| Franklin County, NE | 128 | 2.5" |
Common questions about hail in Smith County
- How often does it hail in Smith County?
- Hail was reported on 48 separate days between 2010 and 2025, about 3.0 days a year, with May the busiest month for storm reports. 56 reports were quarter size (1") or larger.
- Does a report here mean hail hit my street?
- Not necessarily. Each report is one observation tied to a nearby landmark, and a county can be large. Storms also go unreported where few people live. Use the date check above to see what was reported nearby, and treat it as a starting point.
- How big is a 1.75" hailstone?
- Forecasters describe hail by everyday objects: 1" is a quarter, 1.75" a golf ball, 2.75" a baseball. The sizes in these reports are estimates made by the person reporting, not lab measurements.
- Where do I get the official record?
- All reports here come from the NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, which you can search directly. For anything formal, use NOAA’s own records rather than this page.
Look up another place
About these numbers
Every row above is a report filed with the National Weather Service and archived in the NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database (FIPS 20183). Reports are eyewitness, trained-spotter and damage-survey observations, so they cluster near roads and towns and miss storms over empty country. Hail sizes are estimates. Damage figures are preliminary as filed and are never revised in this archive. Use this page for background, not for an insurance claim, a legal filing, or a roof assessment — for those, get the official record from NOAA directly.