“photo of hail estimated around quarter size. (TAE)”
— NOAA / SPC storm report
Hail in Alapaha May 17, 2026
Both radar surfaces caught this storm: NEXRAD logged 24 hail signatures up to 1.5", and the radar-estimated size reached 1" aloft.
1.5"
≈ ping-pong ball · the largest NEXRAD radar signature273
1
1 hailThe most severe storm Alapaha has seen in the last 12 months
Overview's storm severity score weighs hailstone size, homes in the footprint, and ground-truth reports.
- Hail size
- 38 /100
- Homes exposed
- 49 /100
- Ground truth
- 17 /100
Largest hailstone — the top predictor of roof damage.
How many homes sit inside the storm's footprint.
Independent storm reports filed with the NWS.
How Alapaha saw the hail — from two instruments
Two instruments, one storm: NEXRAD logs the point signatures it detected overhead, while the estimated-size surface models how large the hail aloft could have grown. Agreement between them is not guaranteed — the gaps are where the model ran ahead of, or behind, the detections.
NEXRAD's hail signatures for this storm: the spots the radar detected from above. A detection overhead is not the same thing as a confirmed stone below.
Radar-estimated maximum hail size across the swath, modeled from radar aloft. It reflects the biggest stone the storm could support, which may differ from what actually fell.
Where May 17, 2026 sits in Alapaha's hail record
This was Alapaha's 1st recorded hail day — the first hail day in our records for the city. By severity it ranks 1st of the 3 storms we have logged here. Radar put the day's largest stone over Alapaha at 1.5" — the largest NEXRAD radar signature.
The May 17, 2026 convective day was bigger than Alapaha: the same system put hail over 894 other tracked cities, 84 of them in Georgia. Nearest: Nashville (9 miles southwest, up to 1.25"); Pearson (14 miles southeast, up to 1.75"); Ocilla (18 miles northwest, up to 2").
These maps are stills from Alapaha's May 17, 2026 storm. In the Overview app the same surfaces are live — radar updating in real time, radar-estimated hail size as it forms, and NWS spotter reports pinned where they're filed — with a radar replay you can scrub back over any past day.
What people on the ground reported
These are storm reports filed with the National Weather Service and released through the NOAA Storm Prediction Center — public-domain observations from spotters, the public, and NWS surveys. We quote each one exactly as filed.
Hail reports
1 reportWhat 1.5" hail means for Alapaha roofs
At an inch and a half, hail cracks shingles, strips granules down to the mat, and dents gutters, vents, and siding. A footprint like this typically produces a wave of insurance claims — and the contractor who reaches the homeowner first usually gets the inspection.
$3.3M
Potential roof exposure — 273 homes × the ~$12,000 industry-average hail roof claim. Exposure, not confirmed damage.Track hail over Alapaha on the live map
Radar updates in real time, spotter reports appear on the map as they're filed, and the full Alapaha storm history — this May 17, 2026 storm included — sits underneath. When you're ready, draw this storm's footprint and pull highly accurate homeowner contact information for every address inside it.
Highly accurate contact information starting at $0.23 per address — every contact included. Digital leads cost $15–$40. Start with a 7-day free trial — no credit card required. See pricing
3 recorded storm days in Alapaha, GA