Clay County, NE hail & severe wind history
283 storm reports on file for Clay County between 2010-06-20 and 2025-08-09 — 152 hail and 131 severe thunderstorm wind. That averages 17.7 reports a year, and May is the busiest month.
At a glance
- Most recent hail report: Aug 9, 2025 — 1" (quarter), 0.53 mi E of Fairfield.
- Hail was reported on 70 days since 2010 — about 4.4 hail days a year.
- Largest hail on record: 4" (grapefruit) on Jul 28, 2023.
- Clay County has more hail reports than 83% of the 93 Nebraska counties we cover.
Search every Clay 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 Clay County storm reports…
Worst storm days in Clay County
| Date | Reports that day | Largest hail | Peak gust |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020-07-08 | 11 | — | 72 mph |
| 2022-06-07 | 9 | 1.75" (golf ball) | 70 mph |
| 2021-12-15 | 9 | — | 81 mph |
| 2013-08-01 | 8 | 1.75" (golf ball) | 81 mph |
| 2022-04-29 | 8 | 1" (quarter) | 96 mph |
| 2020-08-14 | 7 | 3" (teacup) | 60 mph |
| 2012-06-14 | 7 | 2.5" (tennis ball) | 60 mph |
| 2016-05-29 | 7 | 1.5" (ping pong ball) | — |
| 2017-06-13 | 7 | 1" (quarter) | 70 mph |
| 2023-07-28 | 6 | 4" (grapefruit) | 60 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025-05-19 | 2.75" baseball | 0 mi N of Edgar | Hail in Edgar was mainly less than two inches in diameter, but the largest stones were near the size of baseballs. |
| 2023-07-28 | 2" hen egg | 2.71 mi ENE of Eldorado | Hail up to two inches in diameter was accompanied by wind gusts estimated to be near 60 MPH. |
| 2023-07-28 | 2.5" tennis ball | 2.96 mi NNE of Saronville | Hail up to the size of tennis balls was reported along and near this path. |
| 2023-07-28 | 4" grapefruit | .69 mi N of Saronville | Reports received via social media and broadcast media of hail between three and four inches in diameter in and around Saronville. |
| 2023-07-28 | 2" hen egg | 2.62 mi W of Saronville | No narrative filed |
| 2023-07-28 | 2" hen egg | 4.86 mi S of Saronville | No narrative filed |
| 2023-05-06 | 2.5" tennis ball | 0 mi N of Edgar | Hail up to the size of tennis balls was reported in Edgar. |
| 2023-04-18 | 2.5" tennis ball | 0 mi N of Harvard | No narrative filed |
When does hail hit Clay County?
Across 16 years of records, May produced the most reports (75), followed by the months either side of it. Monthly totals:
| Month | Reports | Share |
|---|---|---|
| January | 0 | 0.0% |
| February | 0 | 0.0% |
| March | 2 | 0.7% |
| April | 38 | 13.4% |
| May | 75 | 26.5% |
| June | 66 | 23.3% |
| July | 47 | 16.6% |
| August | 31 | 11.0% |
| September | 3 | 1.1% |
| October | 12 | 4.2% |
| November | 0 | 0.0% |
| December | 9 | 3.2% |
Neighboring counties
Counties that share a border with Clay County (U.S. Census county adjacency), where we have storm records:
| County | Storm reports | Largest hail |
|---|---|---|
| Adams County, NE | 322 | 4.25" |
| Hamilton County, NE | 194 | 3" |
| York County, NE | 172 | 3" |
| Fillmore County, NE | 159 | 3" |
| Webster County, NE | 155 | 2.75" |
| Nuckolls County, NE | 145 | 2.5" |
See all 93 Nebraska counties →
Common questions about hail in Clay County
- How often does it hail in Clay County?
- Hail was reported on 70 separate days between 2010 and 2025, about 4.4 days a year, with May the busiest month for storm reports. 116 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 31035). 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.