Skip to content
HailIndex

Amarillo hail storm history

Potter County·NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database·~75-day publication lag

Potter County has recorded 26 hail events of 1 inch or larger over the past 10 years, with 12 of those reaching 1.5 inches or greater. Amarillo sits on the southern High Plains where elevated terrain and afternoon atmospheric instability combine to produce frequent large-hail events. The largest hailstones documented in the area measured 4.25 inches, occurring south of Claude in June 2025.

Events ≥1" (10yr)
402
Significant ≥1.5"
165
Avg per year
40.2
Largest recorded
4.25"
Most recent
Oct 25, 2025
Total records
496
NOAA storm history
events (10 yr)347
≥1.5" significant147
peak year (105)2019

Hail in Amarillo follows a distinct seasonal pattern, with May, June, and July accounting for the majority of significant events. Secondary activity occurs in April and August. Supercell thunderstorms typical of this period move slowly across Potter County and surrounding areas, producing hail swaths with stones ranging from baseball to grapefruit size, often causing windshield damage and roof impact to residential and commercial structures.

Annual frequency — last 10 years

2025
27
2024
20
2023
33
2022
49
2021
47
2020
51
2019
138
2018
29
2017
43
≥2.0" severe≥1.5" significant≥1.0" marginal

When hail hits — monthly pattern

Avg events per month · all years · NOAA data

Jan0
Feb0
Mar27
Apr37
May215
Jun120
Jul20
Aug45
Sep17
Oct5
Nov3
Dec7

All recorded hail events

Of 496 recorded events, 165 (33%) reached 1.5" or larger — the threshold for likely functional damage on standard asphalt shingles.

Oct 25, 20251"quarter

Hail fell that was mostly pea-sized but there were some nickel and quarter size hailstones that mixe…

Sep 21, 20251"quarter

Hail was falling and accumulated with stones up to the size of quarters.

Nickel size hail fell near the intersection of Highway 136 and Bertrand Road.

A supercell thunderstorm moved across Amarillo north of I-40. It produced a swath of hail ranging fr…

A supercell thunderstorm produced large hail across the city of Panhandle. Hail sizes ranged between…

A supercell thunderstorm slowly moved through and south of Claude. It produced a swath of hail rangi…

Jun 7, 20251"quarter

A supercell thunderstorm brought a swath of large hail to portions of Randall County. Baseball size …

A swath of quarter to half dollar size hail fell to the north of Lake Tanglewood. Hail of at least q…

Hail accumulated in a few inches with the hailstones ranging from nickel to quarter size.

Sep 21, 20241.5"ping pong ball

Accumulating hail occurred along I-27 between Canyon and Happy. The biggest hailstone measured was …

Jul 19, 20241"quarter
Jul 7, 20241.5"ping pong ball

Large hail fell for about 15 minutes at an outdoor adventure park on the north rim of the canyon wit…

Large hail started to fall around 1815CDT and lasted several minutes at the Pantex plant. Small den…

May 28, 20241.75"golf ball

Accumulating hail occurred around Amarillo, especially around the west to southwest side of the city…

Sep 10, 20231.5"ping pong ball
Aug 5, 20231.25"half dollar
Jul 16, 20231"quarter
Jun 30, 20231"quarter

Several reports came into the weather office for hail between 0.88 and 1 in diameter across southern…

Jun 1, 20230.75"penny
May 31, 20231"quarter
Apr 25, 20230.75"penny

Accumulating hail was occurring at the time of the report along parts of HWY 136.

Small tree limbs of about 1 to 2 inches in diameter were broken from the storm as well.

Apr 28, 20221"quarter

Multiple reports of 1 to 1.25 in diameter were received between 1918 CDT and 1926 CDT across portion…

Apr 22, 20222.5"tennis ball

Storm chasers and storm spotters reported hail between 1 and 2.5 in diameter from a storm that track…

Oct 13, 20211"quarter

A NWS employee reported 1.25 diameter hailstones at their house in southwest Amarillo.

Jul 17, 20211.75"golf ball

Reported mostly quarter size hail with a few stones as large as golf balls. It was also said that a…

May 31, 20210.75"penny
May 27, 20212.5"tennis ball

Hail damaged some vehicles and campers, mainly on the south side of the park. Some hikers reportedl…

Once again portions of Canyon especially eastern to northern portions received large hail, this time…

Multiple reports came in from 1550 CST to 1612 CST for hail sizes ranging from 0.75 to 1.25 around s…

May 14, 20211"quarter

A severe thunderstorm dropped large hail from penny size to golf ball size hail across the city of C…

Nov 24, 20201.25"half dollar

Late picture received of hail covering the ground up to 5 inches deep. Time estimated from radar and…

Aug 15, 20201.75"golf ball

A motorist drove into golf ball size hail along Highway 60 northeast of Panhandle.

Aug 14, 20200.88"penny
Aug 12, 20200.75"penny

Report relayed by a broadcast media storm chaser.

A trained spotter reported nickel size hail.

Quarter size hail fell 2 miles southeast of Fritch. The time of occurrence has been estimated from r…

Jun 20, 20201"quarter

Quarter size hail fell 8 miles south-southeast of Canyon. This was reported via the Spotter Network.

Quarter size hail fell 3 miles east-southeast of Washburn.

Mostly dime to nickel size hail with a few quarter size stones fell 7 miles west-northwest of Washbu…

Dime to penny size hail was observed at the National Weather Service office at Amarillo.

May 12, 20201.25"half dollar

Spotter reported half-dollar size hail 6 miles south of Canyon.

Half dollar size hail was observed 3 miles west-southwest of Umbarger.

Sep 21, 20190.75"penny

Pea to dime size hail was reported near Lake Meredith.

Sep 19, 20191.5"ping pong ball
Sep 1, 20190.88"penny

The spotter reported a very brief period of mostly dime size hail with a few stones up to nickel siz…

Aug 9, 20191"quarter

Nickel to quarter size hail was observed just west of Interstate 40 and Western. The hail lasted abo…

Dime to quarter size hail was reported by a local broadcast meteorologist.

Brief quarter size hail fell at Ceta Canyon church camp.

Jul 4, 20191.25"half dollar

A spotter network report was received for quarter sized hail approximately 10 miles south of Boys Ra…

Late report on Facebook of half dollar size hail.

Received a Facebook report of quarter size hail in Panhandle.

Quarter size hail north of Canyon was reported on social media.

Jun 18, 20191.25"half dollar

Gold ball hail fell across Interstate 40 around mile marker 102 as a severe storm crossed the highwa…

Late report of Ping Pong ball hail on I-40.

May 26, 20190.88"penny

Late report of quarter size hail.

May 24, 20191"quarter

Late report of ping pong to golf ball size hail stones.

Picture from social media of quarter size hail.

Penny size hail with a few nickels off of Gem Lake Road in Amarillo.

Lots of nickel and quarter sized hail on the ground.

Report received from Twitter.

May 5, 20191"quarter

Ping pong ball size hail reported at Crockett Middle School.

Apr 28, 20190.75"penny

Accumulating hail on the ground. Lots of hail reducing visibility.

Accumulating hail was reported in south Amarillo.

The hail was accumulating on the ground.

Penny sized hail reported near the city of Canyon.

Golf ball size hail reported near Randall High School.

Aug 15, 20181"quarter

Late report of a carport being destroyed due to thunderstorm winds. In addition, dime size hail repo…

M-ping report of 0.75 hail.

At 207 and interstate 40.

Reports of hen egg to tennis ball size hail in Panhandle.

May 20, 20180.88"penny

Nickel size hail reported.

Nickel to quarter size hail with some accumulation on the ground.

Aug 11, 20171.25"half dollar
Jul 4, 20170.75"penny

Dime to penny size hail.

Late report of half dollar size hail reported via Twitter.

Quarter to half dollar size hail in Canyon.

Quarter to half dollar sized hail reported.

Picture of hail received.

Apr 1, 20171"quarter

Time estimated by radar.

Heavy nickel sized hail along with torrential rain and zero visibility fog.

Mar 23, 20171"quarter

Reporting quarter hail 3 miles east of Vega on I-40. Hail now shifting north of highway.

Sep 17, 20161"quarter
Jul 15, 20161.25"half dollar

Hail slightly larger than golf balls at Valley De Oro.

Nickel size hail or smaller.

May 31, 20161"quarter

Quarter size hail reported on FM1061 west of the helium plant on the northwest side of Amarillo.

Dime to quarter size hail covering the road at Highway 60 and 207.

Golf ball size hail fell 5 miles west-southwest of Panhandle, along Highway 60 near County Road J.

Quarter size hail was reported 5 miles north of Amarillo.

Half dollar size hail was reported two miles south of Masterson.

Quarter size hail was reported 3 miles northwest of Conway.

Hail up to quarter size was reported near Bishop Hills, about 6 miles northeast of Bushland.

About this data

NOAA records for Potter County contain 30 documented hail events, providing substantial reporting density for the Amarillo area. The 10-year count of 26 events meeting 1-inch criteria reflects consistent storm activity typical of High Plains hail climatology and represents reliable historical baseline data.

NOAA Storm Events Database source