Colorado's 2026 Hail Season in Review

Colorado's 2026 hail season is in the record. As of October 13, NOAA radar had recorded 91 hail days across the state. The largest radar estimate was 5.00 inches, and August was the busiest month. No October date added a new hail day.

These are the same numbers the HailScore™ Colorado hail statistics page publishes, counted by the same rule. Below is what the radar recorded month by month, how a date becomes a hail day, and the storm days that stood out.

One thing first: a hail day is exposure, not damage. It means radar estimated hail of 1 inch or larger somewhere in Colorado that day. It does not mean any particular roof was hit, or damaged.

2026 by the Numbers

The first counted hail day was May 16 and the last was September 29. HailScore's MRMS radar record for 2026 begins late on May 10 (Mountain Time), so the count covers mid-May onward. Hail before then is in NOAA's other records, but not in this count.

August led with 24 hail days, and June and July tied behind it at 21. Over the long run the calendar usually looks different: NOAA's Storm Events Database records more Colorado hail events in June than in any other month.

The panel above reads the radar live. If a late storm adds a hail day, it changes there. The numbers in this post stay dated October 13.

How a Date Becomes a Hail Day

Three rules decide the count. They are the same rules behind every Colorado season number on HailScore.

1 inch or larger. A date needs at least one radar estimate of 1 inch or larger. That is the National Weather Service's severe-hail threshold. HailScore's live MRMS feed also stores smaller cells, down to its own floor of 0.75 inches, but a reading under 1 inch never makes a hail day on its own.

New, not repeated. MRMS publishes a trailing 24-hour maximum, so a snapshot taken after midnight re-reports the previous day's hail under the new date. A date counts only if it carries at least one new cell. In 2026, 23 dates only repeated the day before, so none of them is counted twice.

Backed up by the grid. A real hail core covers a patch of neighboring radar cells. A reading counts only when at least three other cells within about 5 kilometers reported hail of 1 inch or larger on the same date. Five 2026 dates rested only on readings that stood alone, so they are not hail days.

Skip the last two checks and the season gains 28 dates. That is the gap between a raw count of dates and this one.

The Biggest Radar Estimates

Every size here is a MESH (Maximum Estimated Size of Hail) radar estimate, not a measured stone. Read it as a size class.

5.00 inches, August 19, on the eastern plains at 39.49°N, 103.04°W. It is the largest estimate the count keeps, and 95 neighboring radar cells reported hail of 1 inch or larger around it the same day.

4.94 inches, June 22, in far northern Weld County. It was June's largest estimate and the largest of the year in a Front Range county. See the June 22 Weld County storm record.

8.85 inches, early August, not counted. On August 8 that reading and one twin cell 2 kilometers away were the only readings of 1 inch or larger in all of Colorado. That is too few for the grid to back them up, and no ground report backed them up either. A stone that size would beat the US record of 8 inches (Vivian, South Dakota, 2010). We treat it as a radar artifact, so it counts toward nothing here.

Notable Front Range Storm Days

These are the largest radar estimates by county and date, from the list on the Colorado hail statistics page:

June 22 put two counties on the list. September 9 and 10 were back-to-back days over Pueblo County, covered in our September 9–10 recap. On June 1 the largest Front Range estimate was over Arapahoe County, which takes in much of Aurora. See the June 1 Arapahoe County storm record.

October: Readings, but No New Hail Day

The radar did pick up hail in October. On October 12 readings reached 1.27 inches, but each stood alone, with too few 1-inch cells around it for the grid to back it up. October 13 only repeated October 12. Neither date counts, so the last counted hail day of 2026 is still September 29.

What the Season Means for Your Address

A statewide count tells you how active the season was. It cannot tell you whether hail fell on your street, or what it did to your roof.

Look up your address. The free HailScore report lists the hail recorded near your property, with dates, estimated sizes and distances. Check your address. No account needed.

Check one date. If you remember a specific storm, see whether hail was recorded at your address on that date.

Look from the ground. Fresh dents in gutters, downspouts, window screens and vent caps are visible without a ladder.

Get an inspection if the record and the dents line up. Only an on-roof inspection can confirm damage.

Need the record as a document? The storm-history PDF is $9.95 per address, emailed to you, with a source for every event. It is not a roof inspection or a damage assessment.

For when Colorado's hail season usually starts and peaks, see our Colorado hail season guide.

Sources: NOAA MRMS radar (hail days and sizes) and NOAA's Storm Events Database (the long-run month pattern), via HailScore. Data current as of October 13, 2026. A recorded size is exposure, not a damage finding.