Hail size 1"
2 SSW Colby Thomas County
“Spotter network report of 1.00 inch hail. (GLD)”
— NOAA / SPC storm report
/ Storm field report · Thomas
Hail in Colby · May 16, 2026
NEXRAD logged 16 hail signatures up to 2.75"; the estimated-size surface reached 2.25" aloft. At 2.75" — baseball — this is a severe hail signal associated with roof damage. Open it on the live map to see the swath over the streets.
7-day free trial in the iPhone app. No card required to start.
For iPhone. Android coming soon.
Web trial: 7 days free. Card required. $150/month after the trial unless cancelled.
Peak hail signal 2.75" ≈ baseball · the largest NEXRAD radar signature
Homes in the hail footprint 79
Ground reports 10 1 hail · 9 wind
Radar surfaces 2 NEXRAD + estimated size
Convective day · May 16, 2026 · noon–noon UTC
Severity
The 2nd most severe storm Colby has seen in the last 12 months
Composite score · 6.6 / 10
Storm severity score
Overview's storm severity score weighs hailstone size, homes in the footprint, and ground-truth reports.
6.6 /10
- Peak hail signal
- 69 /100
- Homes exposed
- 38 /100
- Ground truth
- 100 /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 Colby saw the hail — from two instruments
May 16, 2026 · Colby, KS
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 radar signatures Surface resolved
Radar signature field 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.
Max size
2.75"
Detections
16
Radar-estimated hail size Surface resolved
Estimated size field 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.
Max size
2.25"
The storm in context
Where May 16, 2026 sits in Colby's hail record.
This was Colby's 2nd recorded hail day, arriving 35 days after the Apr 11, 2026 storm. By severity it ranks 2nd of the 18 storms we have logged here. Radar put the day's largest stone over Colby at 2.75" — the largest NEXRAD radar signature.
The May 16, 2026 convective day was bigger than Colby: the same system put hail over 711 other tracked cities, 98 of them in Kansas. Nearest: Brewster (15 miles northwest, up to 4"); Winona (21 miles south, up to 4"); Rexford (21 miles east, up to 2.5").
These maps are stills. In the app this date is one of 18 Colby 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
10 reports 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 reportWind reports
9 reports Wind gust 62 mph
1 NW Colby Thomas County
“My_Weather_Station; AWN. (GLD)”
— NOAA / SPC storm report
Wind gust 85 mph
5 S Colby Thomas County
“Spotter network of wind gusts between 80 and 84 with a few reaching 85. (GLD)”
— NOAA / SPC storm report
Wind gust 62 mph
2 ENE Colby Thomas County
“C0352. (GLD)”
— NOAA / SPC storm report
Wind gust 88 mph
2 ENE Colby Thomas County
“Mesonet station FW6347 Colby 2E. (GLD)”
— NOAA / SPC storm report
Wind gust 59 mph
1 SE Colby Thomas County
“F8773. (GLD)”
— NOAA / SPC storm report
Wind gust 73 mph
1 NE Colby Thomas County
“Ostmeyer_Weather_Station; AWN. (GLD)”
— NOAA / SPC storm report
Wind gust 67 mph
9 N Page City Thomas County
“Summers_646; AWN. (GLD)”
— NOAA / SPC storm report
Wind gust 75 mph
6 SW Mingo Thomas County
“Plummer; AWN. (GLD)”
— NOAA / SPC storm report
Wind gust 62 mph
6 SW Mingo Thomas County
“Plummer; AWN. (GLD)”
— 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.
Hail was reported over 15 minutes, from to .
Reports came from Page City and Mingo — beyond Colby itself.
Severe hail signal
What 2.75" hail means for Colby roofs.
Two-inch-plus hail is capable of puncturing shingles, breaking skylights or windows, and heavily denting soft materials. The strongest radar bands warrant prompt inspection, but neither the signal nor the footprint confirms damage at a specific address.
Radar reading · not confirmed damage
Roofing exposure
What this storm is worth to a roofer.
79 homes × $12,000 avg. claim
Potential roof exposure
$948K
Potential roof exposure — 79 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 $17 on top of the $150 plan.
Estimated-size surface Storm date Colby / KS
Sep 10, 2026
0.5" Estimated 0.5"
No ground reports filed Open report →
Estimated-size surface Storm date Colby / KS
Sep 4, 2026
0.5" Estimated 0.5"
No ground reports filed Open report →
Estimated-size surface Storm date Colby / KS
Aug 20, 2026
3.25" Estimated 3.25"
No ground reports filed Open report →
Estimated-size surface Storm date Colby / KS
Aug 14, 2026
0.5" Estimated 0.5"
No ground reports filed Open report →
Estimated-size surface Storm date Colby / KS
Aug 13, 2026
0.75" Estimated 0.75"
No ground reports filed Open report →
Estimated-size surface Storm date Colby / KS
Jul 30, 2026
1.75" Signatures 1.75" Estimated 1"
No ground reports filed Open report →
Estimated-size surface Storm date Colby / KS
Jul 27, 2026
1" Signatures 1" Estimated 0.5"
No ground reports filed Open report →
Estimated-size surface Storm date Colby / KS
Jul 9, 2026
2.5" Signatures 2.5" Estimated 2.25"
1 ground report Open report →
Estimated-size surface Storm date Colby / KS
Jul 3, 2026
1" Signatures 1" Estimated 0.75"
No ground reports filed Open report →
Estimated-size surface Storm date Colby / KS
Jul 1, 2026
1.75" Signatures 1.75" Estimated 1.5"
3 ground reports Open report →
Estimated-size surface Storm date Colby / KS
Jun 30, 2026
1.75" Signatures 1.75" Estimated 1"
No ground reports filed Open report →
Estimated-size surface Storm date Colby / KS
Jun 24, 2026
0.75" Estimated 0.75"
No ground reports filed Open report →
Estimated-size surface Storm date Colby / KS
Jun 21, 2026
1.25" Estimated 1.25"
1 ground report Open report →
Estimated-size surface Storm date Colby / KS
Jun 20, 2026
2.5" Estimated 2.5"
10 ground reports Open report →
Estimated-size surface Storm date Colby / KS
Jun 1, 2026
2.5" Signatures 2.5" Estimated 1.5"
No ground reports filed Open report →
Estimated-size surface Storm date Colby / KS
May 29, 2026
2.25" Signatures 2.25" Estimated 1.25"
No ground reports filed Open report →
Estimated-size surface Storm date Colby / KS
Apr 11, 2026
0.75" Signatures 0.75"
No ground reports filed Open report →
The next storm won’t wait for you.
Set your territory and alerts today. When hail hits, use Overview to choose your streets and get moving.
7-day free trial in the iPhone app. No card required to start.
For iPhone. Android coming soon.
Web trial: 7 days free. Card required. $150/month after the trial unless cancelled.
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 11, 2026.