Hail size 1"
Arkansas City Cowley County
“Reports of nickel to quarter size hail and 52 mph wind. (ICT)”
— NOAA / SPC storm report
Hail in Arkansas City May 18, 2026
The radar-estimated size surface caught this storm, reaching 1" aloft. NEXRAD logged no point detections over Arkansas City this day.
Largest hailstone
1"
≈ quarter · radar-estimated size aloft Homes in the hail footprint
6,618
Ground reports
1
1 hailThe 7th most severe storm Arkansas City 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.
3.7 /10
- Hail size
- 25 /100
- Homes exposed
- 76 /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 Arkansas City saw the hail — from two instruments
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.
Radar-estimated hail size
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"
Only the radar-estimated size surface resolved for May 18, 2026 — this storm produced no NEXRAD point detections over Arkansas City, so there is one map to show, not two.
Where May 18, 2026 sits in Arkansas City's hail record
This was Arkansas City's 7th recorded hail day, arriving 14 days after the May 4, 2026 storm. By severity it ranks 7th of the 16 storms we have logged here. Radar put the day's largest stone over Arkansas City at 1" — radar-estimated size aloft.
The May 18, 2026 convective day was bigger than Arkansas City: the same system put hail over 726 other tracked cities, 258 of them in Kansas. Nearest: Geuda Springs (9 miles southwest, up to 1.25"); Newkirk (11 miles south, up to 1.5"); Winfield (11 miles north, up to 0.75").
These maps are stills from Arkansas City's May 18, 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" hail means for Arkansas City 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
$79M
Potential roof exposure — 6,618 homes × the ~$12,000 industry-average hail roof claim. Exposure, not confirmed damage.
Illustrative jobs
33 jobs
Illustrative work
~$495K
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 Arkansas City on the live map
Radar updates in real time, spotter reports appear on the map as they're filed, and the full Arkansas City storm history — this May 18, 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
Arkansas City hail history
← All hail in Arkansas City 16 recorded storm days in Arkansas City, KS
Other storms in Arkansas City
Jul 11, 2026
1" Signatures 1" Estimated 1"
No ground reports filed 
Jul 4, 2026
2" Signatures 2" Estimated 1.25"
1
ground report 
Jun 26, 2026
1.75" Signatures 1.75" Estimated 0.75"
No ground reports filed 
Jun 25, 2026
0.5" Estimated 0.5"
No ground reports filed 
Jun 20, 2026
0.5" Estimated 0.5"
No ground reports filed 
Jun 18, 2026
0.5" Estimated 0.5"
No ground reports filed 
Jun 17, 2026
1.25" Estimated 1.25"
1
ground report 
May 30, 2026
1" Signatures 1" Estimated 0.5"
No ground reports filed 
May 29, 2026
May 4, 2026
1" Signatures 1" Estimated 0.75"
No ground reports filed 
Apr 26, 2026
1.75" Signatures 1.75" Estimated 0.5"
5
ground reports 
Apr 23, 2026
1.75" Signatures 1.75" Estimated 1.25"
No ground reports filed 
Apr 17, 2026
3.25" Signatures 3.25" Estimated 1.25"
No ground reports filed 
Apr 3, 2026
2.25" Signatures 2.25" Estimated 1.25"
No ground reports filed 
Mar 31, 2026
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.