Texans Bearing the Brunt of Increases in Hailstorm Events

Severe hail events in the U.S.–defined as storms which delivered hail of at least one inch in size within a metropolitan area–increased by almost 18% in the first half of 2023 compared to the average number of events over the same period during the past three years, according to Verisk, a provider of global data analytics and technology.

The State of Texas was especially hard hit during the first six months of 2023, with eight of the top 10 metro areas experiencing the most severe hail events occurring in metro areas of the Lone Star State.

These events can cause considerable damage and be very costly. Verisk noted that roof damage is one of the most common effects of severe hail events, and of the 1.8 million residential claims for roof damage in 2022, hail loss accounted for 82% of residential assignments and 80% of commercial assignments.

According to Verisk, U.S. insurers paid $176 billion in natural disaster claims in 2020-2021.

Despite the concentration of hail-related damage reported in Texas, Verisk notes that the region known as “Hail Alley” has widened, bringing more hailstorms to Eastern states. Hail-producing storms cluster in the spring and summer.

The Verisk analysis compares the number of severe hail events during the first half of 2023 to the average of the previous three years, and sorts these events by Census Region and Metropolitan Areas. There were regional variances observed in the data: the Southern and Western Regions experienced an above-average hail season; the Mountain and South Central Regions had very high hail activity; the Midwest had average levels of hail activity; and the Northeast, which typically has the least amount of hail activity, was below average.

“Extreme weather events continue to increase, and severe hail can cause significant damage to both residential and commercial properties,” said Patrick Pollard, SVP Verisk Weather Solutions. “It’s important for mortgage lenders, servicers, and investors to consider this when managing their risk and financial exposure.”

Twenty-seven metro areas experienced at least 20 severe hail events during the first half of 2023, with 16 of those metros located in Texas. Louisiana and Florida each had three metro areas with at least 20 severe hail events, Oklahoma, Mississippi, and Arkansas had two each. The Dallas metro area had the most severe events with 35, followed by Amarillo with 34, and Jackson, Mississippi, and Miami with 31 each. The rest of the top 10 metros with the highest number of severe hail events included Abilene and Longview (29 each), Wichita Falls (28), Houston (27), and San Antonio and Killeen (26 each).

There were 1,300 severe hail events reported across the country through the end of June in 2023, up from an average of 1,105 such events during the prior three years. The South had 721 hail events, by far the most in the country, and an increase of almost 26% compared to the three-year average. The Midwest experienced 354 severe hail events, an almost identical number to the average of 355. The West had 186 events, an incredible 48% increase from the prior three years, while the Northeast saw activity drop by about 30%, from 51 to 39.