/ Storm field report · Geary

Hail in Alta Vista · May 18, 2026

NEXRAD logged 10 hail signatures up to 1.75"; the estimated-size surface reached 1.5" aloft. Open it on the live map to see the swath over the streets.

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Peak hail signal 1.75" ≈ golf ball · the largest NEXRAD radar signature
Homes in the hail footprint 249
Ground reports 1 1 hail
Radar surfaces 2 NEXRAD + estimated size

Convective day · May 18, 2026 · noon–noon UTC

Severity

The 7th most severe storm Alta Vista has seen in the last 12 months

Composite score · 4.1 / 10
Storm severity score

Overview's storm severity score weighs hailstone size, homes in the footprint, and ground-truth reports.

4.1 /10
Peak hail signal
44 /100

Largest radar-indicated size — a signal of damage potential, not confirmation.

Homes exposed
48 /100

How many homes sit inside the storm's footprint.

Ground truth
17 /100

Independent storm reports filed with the NWS.

Evidence / storm surfaces

How Alta Vista saw the hail — from two instruments

May 18, 2026 · Alta Vista, KS

Each storm gets two readings: the radar signatures NEXRAD recorded as the cells passed overhead, and a modeled estimate of hail size in the air. They are independent surfaces, so a mismatch between them is expected — and worth reading.

NEXRAD radar signatures Surface resolved
NEXRAD radar-signature map of the hail storm over Alta Vista, KS on May 18, 2026 Radar signature field

The point detections NEXRAD recorded overhead. Each signature marks where the radar saw hail aloft — it is a detection, not a stone measured on the ground.

Max size 1.75" Detections 10
Radar-estimated hail size Surface resolved
Radar-estimated hail-size map of the storm over Alta Vista, KS on May 18, 2026 Estimated size field

Radar-estimated hail size over the swath. The model reports the biggest stone the storm could sustain in the air; what actually fell may have been smaller.

Max size 1.5"

The storm in context

Where May 18, 2026 sits in Alta Vista's hail record.

This was Alta Vista's 7th recorded hail day, arriving 1 day after the May 17, 2026 storm. By severity it ranks 7th of the 19 storms we have logged here. Radar put the day's largest stone over Alta Vista at 1.75" — the largest NEXRAD radar signature.

The May 18, 2026 convective day was bigger than Alta Vista: the same system put hail over 726 other tracked cities, 258 of them in Kansas. Nearest: Alma (7 miles north, up to 2.5"); Dwight (11 miles southwest, up to 1.75"); White City (15 miles southwest, up to 2.5").

These maps are stills. In the app this date is one of 19 Alta Vista 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.

Hail reports

1 report
Hail size 1.5"
6 NNW Volland Wabaunsee County

“(TOP)”

— NOAA / SPC storm report

Storm forensics

How the storm moved

Timing and place names from NOAA ground reports

Read from the arrival times and locations of the NOAA ground reports, not a radar-measured storm track.

Reports came from Volland — beyond Alta Vista itself.

High damage potential

What 1.75" hail means for Alta Vista 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.

249 homes × $12,000 avg. claim

Potential roof exposure

$3M

Potential roof exposure — 249 homes × the ~$12,000 industry-average hail roof claim. Exposure, not confirmed damage.

Illustrative jobs
1 job
Illustrative work
~$15K

Close just 0.5% of the 249 homes in this footprint at the average $15,000 roof job. Illustrative math, not a projection — your results depend on your outreach and how the market responds.

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 $52 on top of the $150 plan.

Alta Vista hail history

19 recorded storm days in Alta Vista, KS
Map unavailable
NEXRAD surface
Storm date Alta Vista / KS

Sep 19, 2026

1"
Estimated 1"
2 ground reports Open report →
Radar-estimated hail-size map of the storm over Alta Vista, KS on Sep 12, 2026 Estimated-size surface
Storm date Alta Vista / KS

Sep 12, 2026

1.25"
Estimated 1.25"
1 ground report Open report →
Radar-estimated hail-size map of the storm over Alta Vista, KS on Aug 5, 2026 Estimated-size surface
Storm date Alta Vista / KS

Aug 5, 2026

1"
Estimated 1"
No ground reports filed Open report →
Radar-estimated hail-size map of the storm over Alta Vista, KS on Jul 23, 2026 Estimated-size surface
Storm date Alta Vista / KS

Jul 23, 2026

1"
Signatures 1" Estimated 0.75"
No ground reports filed Open report →
Radar-estimated hail-size map of the storm over Alta Vista, KS on Jul 9, 2026 Estimated-size surface
Storm date Alta Vista / KS

Jul 9, 2026

1"
Signatures 1" Estimated 0.75"
No ground reports filed Open report →
Radar-estimated hail-size map of the storm over Alta Vista, KS on Jul 4, 2026 Estimated-size surface
Storm date Alta Vista / KS

Jul 4, 2026

2.25"
Signatures 2.25" Estimated 1"
No ground reports filed Open report →
Radar-estimated hail-size map of the storm over Alta Vista, KS on Jul 3, 2026 Estimated-size surface
Storm date Alta Vista / KS

Jul 3, 2026

1"
Signatures 1" Estimated 0.75"
No ground reports filed Open report →
Radar-estimated hail-size map of the storm over Alta Vista, KS on Jun 13, 2026 Estimated-size surface
Storm date Alta Vista / KS

Jun 13, 2026

2.25"
Estimated 2.25"
No ground reports filed Open report →
Radar-estimated hail-size map of the storm over Alta Vista, KS on Jun 8, 2026 Estimated-size surface
Storm date Alta Vista / KS

Jun 8, 2026

1"
Signatures 1" Estimated 0.75"
No ground reports filed Open report →
Radar-estimated hail-size map of the storm over Alta Vista, KS on May 31, 2026 Estimated-size surface
Storm date Alta Vista / KS

May 31, 2026

1.75"
Signatures 1.75" Estimated 1.25"
1 ground report Open report →
Radar-estimated hail-size map of the storm over Alta Vista, KS on May 30, 2026 Estimated-size surface
Storm date Alta Vista / KS

May 30, 2026

1.75"
Signatures 1.75" Estimated 1"
No ground reports filed Open report →
Radar-estimated hail-size map of the storm over Alta Vista, KS on May 29, 2026 Estimated-size surface
Storm date Alta Vista / KS

May 29, 2026

1"
Signatures 1"
No ground reports filed Open report →
Radar-estimated hail-size map of the storm over Alta Vista, KS on May 17, 2026 Estimated-size surface
Storm date Alta Vista / KS

May 17, 2026

1"
Signatures 1"
No ground reports filed Open report →
Radar-estimated hail-size map of the storm over Alta Vista, KS on May 4, 2026 Estimated-size surface
Storm date Alta Vista / KS

May 4, 2026

1"
Signatures 1" Estimated 0.75"
No ground reports filed Open report →
Radar-estimated hail-size map of the storm over Alta Vista, KS on Apr 26, 2026 Estimated-size surface
Storm date Alta Vista / KS

Apr 26, 2026

2.5"
Signatures 2.5" Estimated 1.75"
1 ground report Open report →
Radar-estimated hail-size map of the storm over Alta Vista, KS on Apr 23, 2026 Estimated-size surface
Storm date Alta Vista / KS

Apr 23, 2026

2.5"
Signatures 2.5" Estimated 1.5"
No ground reports filed Open report →
Radar-estimated hail-size map of the storm over Alta Vista, KS on Mar 6, 2026 Estimated-size surface
Storm date Alta Vista / KS

Mar 6, 2026

2.75"
Signatures 2.75" Estimated 0.5"
No ground reports filed Open report →
Radar-estimated hail-size map of the storm over Alta Vista, KS on Mar 5, 2026 Estimated-size surface
Storm date Alta Vista / KS

Mar 5, 2026

2.5"
Signatures 2.5" Estimated 1"
No ground reports filed Open report →

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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 20, 2026.