Cole County, MO hail & severe wind history
102 storm reports on file for Cole County between 2010-06-19 and 2026-06-01 — 61 hail and 41 severe thunderstorm wind. That averages 6 reports a year, and Apr is the busiest month.
At a glance
- Most recent hail report: Apr 16, 2026 — 2.5" (tennis ball), 0 mi N of Eugene.
- Hail was reported on 35 days since 2010 — about 2.1 hail days a year.
- Largest hail on record: 3" (teacup) on Mar 27, 2020.
- Cole County has more hail reports than 60% of the 115 Missouri counties we cover.
Search every Cole 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 Cole County storm reports…
Worst storm days in Cole County
| Date | Reports that day | Largest hail | Peak gust |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2011-04-19 | 5 | 2" (hen egg) | — |
| 2011-05-22 | 5 | 1.75" (golf ball) | 64 mph |
| 2012-03-02 | 4 | 2.75" (baseball) | — |
| 2012-09-07 | 4 | 1.75" (golf ball) | 64 mph |
| 2012-03-15 | 4 | 1" (quarter) | — |
| 2011-05-25 | 3 | 1.75" (golf ball) | 60 mph |
| 2011-04-22 | 3 | 1.75" (golf ball) | — |
| 2017-05-27 | 3 | 1" (quarter) | 64 mph |
| 2026-04-16 | 2 | 2.5" (tennis ball) | — |
| 2023-08-02 | 2 | 2.5" (tennis ball) | 70 mph |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-04-16 | 2.5" tennis ball | 0 mi N of Eugene | An emergency manager estimated hail size between golf balls and tennis balls. Photo provided was representative of tennis ball sized hail. |
| 2023-08-02 | 2.5" tennis ball | .69 mi SSW of St Martin | A wide swath of large hail fell across the northern portions of Cole County. Large hail was reported in Saint Martins, Apache Flats and Jefferson City. |
| 2020-03-27 | 3" teacup | 2.25 mi ENE of Lohman | A wide swath of large hail fell between St. Martins and Jefferson City. The largest hail stones were 3 inches in diameter. There were numerous reports of dents on vehicles and car windows broken out. At least 800 hundred cars sustained damage at car dealerships in the Jefferson City area. The largest hail stones were… |
| 2015-04-08 | 2" hen egg | 1.81 mi N of Eugene | A wide swath of large hail fell over Cole County from the Hickory Hill/Eugene area to near St. Thomas. Golfball sized hail was reported in Eugene where some vehicles sustained dents from the hail. In Hickory Hill, two inch hail was reported. |
| 2012-03-02 | 2.75" baseball | 2.64 mi WSW of Brazito | Several cars sustained broken windows due to the large hail. |
| 2011-06-13 | 2" hen egg | 0 mi N of Jefferson City | No narrative filed |
| 2011-04-19 | 2" hen egg | 1.57 mi WSW of Jefferson City | No narrative filed |
When does hail hit Cole County?
Across 17 years of records, April produced the most reports (21), followed by the months either side of it. Monthly totals:
| Month | Reports | Share |
|---|---|---|
| January | 1 | 1.0% |
| February | 0 | 0.0% |
| March | 18 | 17.6% |
| April | 21 | 20.6% |
| May | 21 | 20.6% |
| June | 10 | 9.8% |
| July | 12 | 11.8% |
| August | 9 | 8.8% |
| September | 6 | 5.9% |
| October | 2 | 2.0% |
| November | 0 | 0.0% |
| December | 2 | 2.0% |
Neighboring counties
Counties that share a border with Cole County (U.S. Census county adjacency), where we have storm records:
| County | Storm reports | Largest hail |
|---|---|---|
| Boone County, MO | 170 | 2.75" |
| Callaway County, MO | 143 | 2.75" |
| Miller County, MO | 129 | 3" |
| Osage County, MO | 71 | 2.75" |
| Moniteau County, MO | 53 | 2.5" |
See all 115 Missouri counties →
Common questions about hail in Cole County
- How often does it hail in Cole County?
- Hail was reported on 35 separate days between 2010 and 2026, about 2.1 days a year, with April the busiest month for storm reports. 48 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 29051). 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.