What hail did Kansas City see in 2025?

Kansas City's 2025 hail came down to two wide days, May 19 and September 16. They were the only 2025 dates with golf ball size hail near any of the 20 metro cities in this record.

Start with one caution. NOAA's Storm Prediction Center (SPC) still treats its 2025 file as the current year, and that file can be revised. Every figure below reflects the data as pulled on October 7, 2026.

The six cities outside the 20 city record tell the same story. Bonner Springs, Gardner and Kearney logged golf ball size hail on one or both of those days. No other 2025 date brought it near any of the six.

The method behind the figures is simple. A report counts for a city when it starts within 10 miles of that city's Census point. Only hail of 1 inch or larger counts. A report is one sighting, not a storm, and a storm with nobody watching leaves no report at all.

This record does not list every 1 inch day of the year. It lists each city's golf ball size days, its latest 1 inch day and the widest days across the metro. So this post sticks to what those show.

May 19 reached west and north

On May 19, hail of 1 inch or larger was reported near 13 of the 20 cities. Ten days in the record reached more of them.

Golf ball size hail was reported near 8 of those 13. Seven were on the Kansas side: Leawood, Lenexa, Merriam, Olathe, Overland Park, Prairie Village and Shawnee. The eighth was Liberty, north of the Missouri River.

The biggest stones came in the north. Reports near Liberty reached 2.5 inches, which ties the largest in Liberty's record. Kearney, outside the 20, logged 2.5 inches as well.

Merriam and Prairie Village logged 13 reports each, the most among the 20 that day. Kearney matched them.

The east and south sat it out. Blue Springs, Grain Valley, Independence and Lee's Summit logged no 1 inch report that day. Neither did Belton, Grandview or Raymore.

September 16 went wider

Four months later, hail of 1 inch or larger was reported near 15 of the 20 cities. Only four days in the record reached more, and each of those reached 19.

The stones ran smaller. The largest was 1.75 inches, golf ball size, and it was reported only near Kansas cities. Seven of the 20 logged it: Kansas City, Kansas, plus Leawood, Lenexa, Merriam, Overland Park, Prairie Village and Shawnee.

Kansas City, Kansas, logged the most reports among the 20 that day, with 7. Bonner Springs, farther west, logged 5.

On the Missouri side, the hail stayed small. Blue Springs, Gladstone, Grain Valley, Independence, Lee's Summit, Parkville and Raytown logged one report each, at 1 inch. Kansas City, Missouri, logged 3, topping out at 1.25 inches.

Five cities missed the day. Belton, Grandview and Raymore missed it, as they had missed May 19. So did Liberty and Olathe, which had golf ball size hail in May.

For 15 of the 20 cities, September 16 is still the latest 1 inch day on file.

The rest of the year

Two more 2025 dates show up, each only as a city's latest 1 inch day. July 11 brought hail near Kearney. October 18 brought it near Leavenworth and Platte City, the last 1 inch date in any city's file. Both days stayed below golf ball size.

Four cities logged no hail of 1 inch or larger in 2025 at all. Belton, Grandview and Raymore are among the 20. Harrisonville sits farther south. All four sit at the south end of the metro, and each one's latest 1 inch day came in 2024.

Kansas side, Missouri side

The split in 2025 is hard to miss. All 8 Kansas cities in the 20 city record logged golf ball size hail at least once. Of the 12 Missouri cities, only Liberty did.

Six Kansas cities logged it on both days. Leawood, Lenexa, Merriam, Overland Park, Prairie Village and Shawnee all sit in Johnson County. A car left outside there on both days sat near golf ball reports twice. Bonner Springs, outside the 20, logged it on both days as well.

One year is not a pattern. Over the full record, the 5.5 inch stones of September 18, 2010, were reported only near Missouri cities. The Kansas City hail history lays out the whole record, city by city.

How 2025 compares

Across the 20 cities, the record holds 48 golf ball size days from 2010 to 2025. That works out to 3 a year on average. In 2025 there were 2. The year before had 5, and 2011 had 7, the most of any year. Only 2022 had none.

Width tells a different story. The record ranks the 25 days when hail reached the most of the 20 cities. Two of them fell in 2025, as many as in 2024. Only 2014, 2016 and 2019 placed more.

The top stone was smaller than in the two years before. In 2025 it was 2.5 inches. On March 13, 2024, reports reached 3.5 inches. On July 17, 2023, a 5 inch stone was reported near Harrisonville, outside the 20.

The months fit the usual calendar. May and September are the spring peak and the fall run that Kansas City hail season describes.

If your car sat outside

A report near your city does not prove hail hit your car. It shows hail was reported nearby on that date. The dents themselves are the evidence.

If you found dents after either day, the date of loss matters. Photos, a dent count by panel and the date give your carrier something solid to work from. Then ask your carrier which records it wants.

If the car sat outside on both days, the dents may come from either one. Tell your carrier that plainly rather than guessing. Your policy's reporting terms set how long you have, and how long you can wait covers that side.

Your next step

If 2025 left dents on your car, call for a free assessment. Hailsmith counts every dent by panel, right where the car is parked. You hear which ones will not come out before you decide anything.