If severe weather events are as persistent through the summer as they were the first few months of the year, the 2024 U.S. hail season may be well on its way to breaking records — not to mention windshields and windows.
Hailstorm activity increased nearly 74% year over year in the first two months of 2024, according to the latest data available from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). In January and February, Texas saw hailstorms increase by 720% compared to the same period in 2023. South Carolina recorded a single hailstorm in the first two months of last year. During the same time frame this year, the state saw 28 hailstorms — a year-over-year-increase of 2,700%.
Keep in mind that the NOAA’s most recent data doesn’t take into account the storms that pummeled Texas with torrential rain, high winds, and DVD-sized hailstones in May. And it omits the April storms that generated softball-sized hail in South Carolina and prompted the state’s governor to ask for assistance from the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
“It has not been a quiet hail year,” Andrew Heymsfield, a senior scientist at the National Center for Atmospheric Research, recently told the Washington Post.
States hit hard by early hailstorms
Comparing hailstorm activity in the first two months of 2023 to the first two months of this year shows a marked increase in hailstorms — and damages.
In January and February of 2023, 234 hail events affected 19 states and caused about $729,000 in property damage, NOAA data shows. During the same months in 2024, NOAA recorded 407 events — a 73.93% increase — across 20 states. NOAA estimates $3.116 million in property damage from those storms.
In all, 15 states experienced more hail in the beginning of 2024 than the year before. Texas and Illinois tied for the most storms in the two-month period, with 82 each. For the same months in 2023, Oklahoma was the leader, with 44 hailstorms reported.
Nationally, 2024 is shaping up to rank among the top-five costliest years for storm damage, based on Insurify’s analysis of NOAA data. Data for Texas indicates the state will likely see storm damages that will equal or exceed 2023’s costs.
Hail-producing storms are heating up
NOAA data and numerous news accounts indicate that hailstorms aren’t just becoming more frequent — they’re becoming more damaging, with increasingly larger hailstones.
Hail forms when strong updrafts in a thunderstorm keep ice crystals aloft, allowing them to grow larger before falling to the ground. Warmer temperatures create stronger updrafts that can keep larger crystals airborne — and growing — for longer. As global warming continues, hailstones will likely get larger, weather experts predict.
The largest hail recorded in the early part of 2023 was three and a half inches. In January and February of this year, the largest hail was four inches.
And numerous news accounts point to hailstones larger than five inches in Texas during May’s storms.
How hailstorms hit home insurance
Hail season typically lasts from April through September, although the actual duration can vary based on location and other factors.
Every year, Americans file approximately 500,000 claims for hail damage to property, according to Cape Analytics.
Forty years ago, annual insurer losses for hail claims averaged just over $1 billion, the analytics company said. Today, a single hailstorm can cause billions in damages over multiple states. State Farm, the largest U.S. home insurer by market share, reported $3.5 billion in hail claim costs in 2022, a $1 billion increase from the year before. The average hail claim increased by $2,000, the insurer said.
Industry losses hit $60 billion in 2023 from severe convective storms that generated hail, heavy rain, lightning, high winds, and tornadoes, The New York Times reported. In 2022, the industry experienced $31 billion in losses from convective storms.
What’s next?
If this pattern of increases continues, the nation could see 7,307 total hailstorms in 2024, a 5% increase over 2023, Insurify data analysts project. And more hailstorms will result in more home insurance claims for hail damage — bad news for home insurers just starting to recover from last year’s storm season losses.
Homeowners can take steps to minimize hail damage to their properties, including:
Inspecting roofs to identify any weak spots and repair them before hail seasonParking vehicles in garages or under carports when possibleProtect exposed vehicles with a car coverParking vehicles away from trees to reduce the risk of damage from a fallen branchInstalling shutters on your home and closing them before a storm to protect windows from hailstones
