St. Cloud hail storm history
Stearns County·NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database·~75-day publication lag
St. Cloud, located in Stearns County in central Minnesota, experiences hail events at a moderate frequency compared to areas further south. Over the past 10 years, Stearns County has recorded 6 hail events of 1 inch or larger, with 2 of those events reaching 1.5 inches or greater—the threshold at which functional roof damage becomes likely on most shingle types.
Hail in the St. Cloud area occurs most frequently during June and July, with May and August as secondary risk months. St. Cloud sits at the northern edge of Minnesota's primary hail belt, where afternoon convection triggered by the dry line and low-level jet produces thunderstorm activity during these months. On July 19, 2025, the largest recorded hail event in Stearns County produced 2-inch stones—a severe damage threshold capable of functional loss on all shingle types.
Annual frequency — last 10 years
When hail hits — monthly pattern
Avg events per month · all years · NOAA data
All recorded hail events
Of 206 recorded events, 71 (34%) reached 1.5" or larger — the threshold for likely functional damage on standard asphalt shingles.
Most hailstones were between quarter and half dollar with several being golf ball to lime sized.
Photo provided on social media of 1.5-inch hail.
Photo provided via social media.
Additionally sent in a photo with hail size measurement.
A photo showed penny sized hail near the intersection of 30th St NE and Hwy 23.
Mostly dime size hail with some quarter size hail mixed in. Photo relayed through social media.
Quarter to half dollar size hail via picture on Twitter.
One storm in eastern Morrison County had a report of 3/4 inch hail as relayed via mPing.
Some windows were broken. Vehicles were also damaged.
There was a social media picture of 2 inch hail.
There were multiple vehicles damaged with windows broken. In addition, siding on houses was damaged …
Hail accumulated up to 2 inches in depth.
There were several reports of large hail in the city of Buffalo, with the largest hailstone measured…
There were reports of hail throughout the county, with the largest hailstone being ping pong ball si…
A picture of half dollar size hail was posted on social media.
A swath of large hail, up to golf ball size, continued into Isanti County from west of Day, to the f…
A swath of large hail was observed from southwest, to northwest of Avon, Minnesota. The largest hail…
A swath of large hail, up to golf ball size, fell west and northwest of Monticello. Some damage to c…
A swath of large hail, up to quarter size, fell east of Royalton, to southwest of Buckman.
Hail occurred in the Aspen Hills area of Big Lake Township. Damage occurred to a vehicle in this loc…
There were several reports of nickel size hail around Sartell.
Hail continued to fall in Kingston for 10 minutes.
Quarter size hail continued for 10 minutes.
An automobile windshield was broken due to the hail stones.
Stearns County's hail event count of 8 documented occurrences ≥1 inch reflects NOAA's reporting density for the region, which varies by proximity to weather monitoring stations and population centers. St. Cloud's location in central Minnesota means some smaller hail events may not be formally documented in the national Storm Events Database. Current-year data is excluded from the annual frequency table until October, when NOAA's Storm Events Database has processed the full hail season accounting for the standard 75-day reporting lag.
NOAA Storm Events Database source