Tornado Rating unknown
Benton Ringgold County
“Emergency manager confirms tornado on the ground. Time estimated via radar. (DMX)”
— NOAA / SPC storm report
/ Storm field report · Ringgold
Hail in Benton · May 18, 2026
NEXRAD logged 6 hail signatures up to 1.75"; the estimated-size surface reached 1" aloft. Open it on the live map to see the swath over the streets.
A tornado was also reported to the National Weather Service during this storm. The ground reports below show where it was filed.
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Peak hail signal 1.75" ≈ golf ball · the largest NEXRAD radar signature
Homes in the hail footprint 50
Ground reports 1 1 tornado
Radar surfaces 2 NEXRAD + estimated size
Convective day · May 18, 2026 · noon–noon UTC
Severity
The 3rd most severe storm Benton has seen in the last 12 months
Composite score · 4.0 / 10
Storm severity score
Overview's storm severity score weighs hailstone size, homes in the footprint, and ground-truth reports.
4.0 /10
- Peak hail signal
- 44 /100
- Homes exposed
- 34 /100
- Ground truth
- 33 /100
Largest radar-indicated size — a signal of damage potential, not confirmation.
How many homes sit inside the storm's footprint.
Independent storm reports filed with the NWS.
Evidence / storm surfaces
How Benton saw the hail — from two instruments
May 18, 2026 · Benton, IA
We map this storm two ways: the NEXRAD radar signatures the storm produced overhead, and the radar-estimated size of the hail in the air. The two surfaces don’t have to match — where they diverge is where estimated size aloft ran ahead of, or behind, what the signatures caught.
NEXRAD radar signatures Surface resolved
Radar signature field NEXRAD radar signatures — the point detections the storm produced overhead. A signature is where the radar saw hail, not a confirmed stone on the ground.
Max size
1.75"
Detections
6
Radar-estimated hail size Surface resolved
Estimated size field Maximum hail size as estimated from radar aloft. Treat it as the storm's ceiling — the largest supportable stone — rather than a ground measurement.
Max size
1"
The storm in context
Where May 18, 2026 sits in Benton's hail record.
This was Benton's 4th recorded hail day, arriving 2 days after the May 16, 2026 storm. By severity it ranks 3rd of the 7 storms we have logged here. Radar put the day's largest stone over Benton at 1.75" — the largest NEXRAD radar signature.
The May 18, 2026 convective day was bigger than Benton: the same system put hail over 726 other tracked cities, 102 of them in Iowa. Nearest: Diagonal (7 miles north, up to 1.25"); Blockton (9 miles southwest, up to 1.75"); Clearfield (9 miles northwest, up to 1").
These maps are stills. In the app this date is one of 7 Benton storm dates on a live map — both surfaces, the reports, and a replay — and the same map is where you draw the swath. This page rebuilds nightly.
Ground reports
What people on the ground reported
1 report filed with the NWS
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.
Tornado reports
1 reportHigh damage potential
What 1.75" hail means for Benton roofs.
Hail around an inch and a half is capable of cracking shingles, stripping granules, and denting gutters, vents, and siding. Risk is usually greatest near the strongest radar signal, but property-level damage still requires an on-site inspection.
Radar reading · not confirmed damage
Roofing exposure
What this storm is worth to a roofer.
50 homes × $12,000 avg. claim
Potential roof exposure
$600K
Potential roof exposure — 50 homes × the ~$12,000 industry-average hail roof claim. Exposure, not confirmed damage.
Claim window
May 2028
Claims from this storm can typically be filed until around May 2028 — the window to reach these homeowners while it's still open. Deadlines vary by policy and state.
Names and phones for every home in the footprint: at most $11 on top of the $150 plan.
Benton hail history
Other storms in Benton.
7 recorded storm days in Benton, IA
Estimated-size surface Storm date Benton / IA
Sep 6, 2026
1.5" Estimated 1.5"
No ground reports filed Open report →
Estimated-size surface Storm date Benton / IA
Jun 13, 2026
0.5" Estimated 0.5"
No ground reports filed Open report →
Estimated-size surface Storm date Benton / IA
Jun 11, 2026
2" Estimated 2"
No ground reports filed Open report →
Estimated-size surface Storm date Benton / IA
May 16, 2026
2.5" Signatures 2.5" Estimated 1.5"
No ground reports filed Open report →
NEXRAD surface Storm date Benton / IA
Apr 23, 2026
1" Signatures 1"
No ground reports filed Open report →
Estimated-size surface Storm date Benton / IA
Apr 15, 2026
0.5" Estimated 0.5"
No ground reports filed Open report →
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Set your territory and alerts today. When hail hits, use Overview to choose your streets and get moving.
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A storm day here is a convective day — it runs from noon to noon
UTC, so late-night hail is grouped with the afternoon storm that
spawned it rather than split across two calendar dates. Ground
reports are public-domain observations from the NOAA Storm
Prediction Center. Radar tells you where to look. Only an inspection confirms damage at an address. Last updated Sep 7, 2026.