San Marcos Hail Season: What Nearly 60 Years of Hays County Storm Data Show

If you own a home or building in San Marcos, hail is not a question of if, but when. San Marcos hail season arrives every spring as storms roll off the Hill Country and across the I-35 corridor, and some years leave many roofs across Hays County needing inspection. This article walks through what NOAA's storm records actually show for Hays County: how many hail reports there have been, which months are busiest, and which storms produced the largest stones. Then we cover what that history means for your roof, your deductible, and your insurance claim.

Everything below comes from the NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI) Storm Events Database. Where we mention a specific storm, we link to the official event record so you can read it yourself. You can also browse local events on our San Marcos storm history page.

Hays County hail by the numbers

The NCEI database contains 180 hail reports for Hays County from 1967 through 2026 (2026 data is still preliminary). A "report" is one observation of hail at one location. A single large storm can generate several reports as it moves across the county, so these counts measure how often hail is observed, not how many separate storm days there were.

The 1-inch line matters because that is roughly where the National Weather Service considers hail severe. About three out of four Hays County reports meet or exceed it. Nearly one in three reaches golf-ball size, which is large enough to bruise or fracture many composition shingles and dent metal roofing, gutters, and HVAC fins.

The record has also gotten busier. Reporting has improved over the decades as more spotters, cameras, and phones came into use, so older years are probably undercounted. Even so, recent seasons stand out: Hays County logged 15 hail reports in 2024, 9 in 2023, and 9 in 2025. Rapid growth along I-35 in San Marcos, Kyle, and Buda means more roofs sit under each storm path than they did a generation ago.

San Marcos hail season by month

Here is every Hays County hail report in the database grouped by month. The pattern is clear: hail is a spring problem in San Marcos.

March through May produced 147 of the 180 reports, about 82%. April and May alone account for nearly 70%. That lines up with what we see in claims: spring is when warm, humid Gulf air meets dry air and passing upper-level systems over the Balcones Escarpment, and the storms that form along that boundary can grow tall enough to produce large hail quickly.

Two practical takeaways. First, late winter is a good time to have your roof looked at and photographed, so you have a "before" record going into the season. Second, if you notice damage in May, do not assume it came from the most recent storm. Several hail days can stack up within a few weeks, and the date of loss you report should match the storm that actually caused the damage.

The largest hailstorms on record near San Marcos

The biggest Hays County hail reports read like a list of local roof-replacement years. These entries come straight from NCEI event records; follow the links for the full narratives.

Older entries, such as 3-inch hail in 1967 and 1971, are listed only at the county level, so we cannot say exactly where they fell. The 2000 and 2006 events, by contrast, are pinned to the San Marcos area and describe damage many longtime residents still remember.

May 9, 2024: hail and wind across Hays County

The May 9, 2024 storms are the most significant recent hail event for San Marcos. NCEI lists 3-inch hail at San Marcos Academy west of the city, 2.5-inch hail near the outlet mall, 2.5-inch hail near Wimberley, baseball-size hail near Henly, and 3-inch hail south of Dripping Springs.

The hail came with wind. NCEI records estimated 70 mph gusts that dropped a Chinese elm onto a building roof northwest of San Marcos and damaged a church roof in the city. The Hays County Judge signed a local disaster declaration afterward. That was a county declaration, not a federal one. The later federal declaration for spring 2024 storms, FEMA DR-4781, included Hays County for Public Assistance only, which helps governments rather than individual homeowners. For most property owners, recovery from that storm ran through their own insurance policies.

May 22, 2025: baseball hail east of I-35

A year later, storms on May 22, 2025 produced baseball-size hail in Uhland and tennis-ball-size hail in Kyle, according to NCEI. Both areas are full of newer subdivisions with composition shingle roofs, and both are a short drive from San Marcos. If you live in Kyle, our Kyle service area page has more local detail.

What hail history means for San Marcos roofs

The storm record helps explain why hail claims are so common here, and why they can get complicated.

• Composition shingles take the brunt. Most subdivisions in San Marcos, Kyle, and Buda have asphalt shingle roofs. Hail around 1 inch and up can knock off granules, crack the mat, and break the seal strips, even when the damage is hard to see from the ground.
• Metal roofs dent, and the policy matters. Standing-seam and exposed-fastener metal roofs are common on Hill Country homes, barns, and outbuildings toward Wimberley and Dripping Springs. Some policies carry "cosmetic damage" exclusions that limit coverage for dents that do not affect function. Read that endorsement before you file.
• Soft metals and other components. Gutters, downspouts, vents, AC condenser fins, window screens, and painted wood or siding often show hail marks. They also help confirm hail size and direction.
• Repeated storms raise the question of old damage. When a roof has been through several hail seasons, insurers may argue that some damage is old or wear-related. A pre-season inspection and dated photos are the best answer to that argument.

For a deeper look at roof-specific claims, see our guide to roof damage insurance claims.

Wind/hail deductibles in Hays County

Hays County is not in the Texas Windstorm Insurance Association (TWIA) area, so San Marcos homes and businesses usually get wind and hail coverage from their regular insurer, or from the Texas FAIR Plan in some cases. Many of those policies carry a separate wind/hail deductible that is a percentage of the dwelling (Coverage A) limit rather than a flat dollar figure.

Those figures are simple math, not quotes. Check your declarations page to find your own deductible. Also look for roof payment schedules or actual cash value (ACV) roof endorsements, which some Texas policies use and which can reduce what is paid on an older roof. Our claim calculator can help you estimate where you stand after the deductible.

How to document hail damage in San Marcos

Good documentation is the difference between a claim that moves and one that stalls. Here is a practical checklist; our full claim documentation checklist goes further.

1. Write down the date and time. Note when the hail fell and how long it lasted. Then confirm it against official records using our storm lookup tool or the recent weather events page.
2. Photograph hailstones with a size reference. A coin, ruler, or tape measure next to fresh stones is useful evidence. Do it quickly; hail melts fast in a Texas spring.
3. Photograph from the ground first. Gutters, downspouts, window screens, fence caps, siding, vehicles, and AC units. Stay off the roof unless it is safe; a fall is never worth it.
4. Check the interior. Look for new ceiling stains, attic leaks, or wet insulation, and photograph them with the date.
5. Prevent further damage. Most policies require reasonable steps to protect the property, such as tarping an active leak. Keep receipts.
6. Report the claim promptly with the specific storm date, and keep a log of every call, email, and inspection.

Where a San Marcos public adjuster fits in

Storm data and photos are a starting point. The harder part is turning them into a complete, line-by-line estimate and getting the insurer to engage with it. A San Marcos public adjuster works for the policyholder, not the insurance company. We can review your policy, inspect and document the roof and other components, prepare a detailed estimate, and handle communication with the carrier. When an insurer's scope leaves items out, we can submit hail damage claim supplements, and when the disagreement is only about the amount of loss, the policy's appraisal clause may be an option.

We cannot promise a particular outcome; every claim depends on the damage and the policy. What we can do is help make sure the claim is presented accurately and completely. Fees are disclosed in a written contract before any work begins, and Texas law caps public adjuster compensation at 10% of the insurance settlement.

If spring storms have left you wondering about your roof, start with our San Marcos hail damage claims page or request a free claim review. As a San Marcos Public Adjuster serving San Marcos, Hays County, and surrounding Central Texas communities, we are happy to look at your situation and tell you plainly whether we think we can help.

This article is general information about property insurance claims in Texas, not legal advice, and not a promise of any coverage or outcome. Your policy language and the facts of your loss control your claim.