Wind gust 72 mph
5 ESE Henderson Montgomery County
“Personal Weather Station. (OAX)”
— NOAA / SPC storm report
Hail in Emerson May 17, 2026
Both radar surfaces caught this storm: NEXRAD logged 0 hail signatures up to 1", and the radar-estimated size reached 0.5" aloft.
Largest hailstone
1"
≈ quarter · the largest NEXRAD radar signature Homes in the hail footprint
144
Ground reports
1
1 windThe 11th most severe storm Emerson has seen in the last 12 months
Storm severity score
Overview's storm severity score weighs hailstone size, homes in the footprint, and ground-truth reports.
2.8 /10
- Hail size
- 25 /100
- Homes exposed
- 43 /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 Emerson saw the hail — from two instruments
The maps here read the same storm from two angles — point detections from NEXRAD, and modeled hail size aloft. Where the two disagree is informative: it marks where estimated size outran the signatures, or trailed them.
NEXRAD radar signatures
Where NEXRAD flagged hail as the storm passed — point signatures from the radar, which indicate hail overhead rather than confirm what landed.
Max size
1"
Detections
0
Radar-estimated hail size
The modeled maximum hail size across the swath, derived from radar aloft — the largest stone the storm could have supported, which is not necessarily what reached the ground.
Max size
0.5"
Where May 17, 2026 sits in Emerson's hail record
This was Emerson's 6th recorded hail day, arriving 1 day after the May 16, 2026 storm. By severity it ranks 11th of the 12 storms we have logged here. Radar put the day's largest stone over Emerson at 1" — the largest NEXRAD radar signature.
The May 17, 2026 convective day was bigger than Emerson: the same system put hail over 894 other tracked cities, 139 of them in Iowa. Nearest: Imogene (7 miles south, up to 0"); Hastings (9 miles northwest, up to 1"); Red Oak (9 miles southeast, up to 1").
These maps are stills from Emerson'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.
Wind reports
1 report
Storm forensics
Read from the arrival times and locations of the NOAA ground reports,
not a radar-measured storm track.
How the storm moved
Reports came from Henderson — beyond Emerson itself.
What 1" hail means for Emerson roofs
Quarter-size and larger hail is where asphalt shingle damage starts in earnest: bruised mats and granule loss that homeowners can't see from the ground. Most people inside the footprint won't know their roof was hit until someone inspects it.
What this storm is worth to a roofer
$1.7M
Potential roof exposure — 144 homes × the ~$12,000 industry-average hail roof claim. Exposure, not confirmed damage.
Illustrative jobs
1 job
Illustrative work
~$15K
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.
Track hail over Emerson on the live map
Radar updates in real time, spotter reports appear on the map as they're filed, and the full Emerson 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
Emerson hail history
← All hail in Emerson 12 recorded storm days in Emerson, IA
Other storms in Emerson
Jun 30, 2026
1" Signatures 1" Estimated 0.75"
No ground reports filed 
Jun 13, 2026
1" Estimated 1"
No ground reports filed 
Jun 10, 2026
1.25" Estimated 1.25"
1
ground report 
Jun 5, 2026
1.75" Signatures 1.75" Estimated 1"
2
ground reports 
May 31, 2026
1.75" Signatures 1.75" Estimated 1"
No ground reports filed 
May 18, 2026
1.5" Signatures 1.5" Estimated 0.5"
No ground reports filed 
May 16, 2026
2.5" Signatures 2.5" Estimated 2"
No ground reports filed 
May 15, 2026
3" Signatures 3" Estimated 1.5"
2
ground reports 
Apr 23, 2026
2" Signatures 2" Estimated 1"
No ground reports filed 
Apr 9, 2026
Mar 6, 2026
1" Estimated 1"
1
ground report
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 surfaces are detections and estimates,
not confirmed damage. Last updated Aug 3, 2026.