Hail size 1.5"
Columbus Cherokee County
“Ping Pong size hail... 40mph wind gust... torrential rainfall. (SGF)”
— NOAA / SPC storm report
/ Storm field report · Cherokee
Hail in Columbus · Apr 15, 2026
The estimated-size surface reached 1.5" aloft; NEXRAD logged no point detections over Columbus that day. Open it on the live map to see the swath over the streets.
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Peak hail signal 1.5" ≈ ping-pong ball · radar-estimated size aloft
Homes in the hail footprint 4,143
Ground reports 2 2 hail
Radar surfaces 1 Estimated size only
Convective day · Apr 15, 2026 · noon–noon UTC
Severity
The 2nd most severe storm Columbus has seen in the last 12 months
Composite score · 4.6 / 10
Storm severity score
Overview's storm severity score weighs hailstone size, homes in the footprint, and ground-truth reports.
4.6 /10
- Peak hail signal
- 38 /100
- Homes exposed
- 72 /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 Columbus saw the hail — from two instruments
Apr 15, 2026 · Columbus, 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.
Radar-estimated hail size Surface resolved
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"
Only the radar-estimated size surface resolved for Apr 15, 2026 — this storm produced no NEXRAD point detections over Columbus, so there is one map to show, not two.
The storm in context
Where Apr 15, 2026 sits in Columbus's hail record.
This was Columbus's 1st recorded hail day — the first hail day in our records for the city. By severity it ranks 2nd of the 8 storms we have logged here. Radar put the day's largest stone over Columbus at 1.5" — radar-estimated size aloft.
The Apr 15, 2026 convective day was bigger than Columbus: the same system put hail over 425 other tracked cities, 34 of them in Kansas. Nearest: Chetopa (4 miles southwest, up to 1.5"); Cherokee (11 miles north, up to 0.75"); Oswego (13 miles northwest, up to 1.5").
These maps are stills. In the app this date is one of 8 Columbus 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
2 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
2 reports Hail size 1"
3 WSW Columbus Cherokee County
“Quarter size hail. (SGF)”
— NOAA / SPC storm report
High damage potential
What 1.5" hail means for Columbus 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.
4,143 homes × $12,000 avg. claim
Potential roof exposure
$50M
Potential roof exposure — 4,143 homes × the ~$12,000 industry-average hail roof claim. Exposure, not confirmed damage.
- Illustrative jobs
- 21 jobs
- Illustrative work
- ~$315K
Close just 0.5% of the 4,143 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
April 2028
Claims from this storm can typically be filed until around April 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 $870 on top of the $150 plan.
Columbus hail history
Other storms in Columbus.
8 recorded storm days in Columbus, KS
Estimated-size surface Storm date Columbus / KS
Sep 12, 2026
1.75" Estimated 1.75"
No ground reports filed Open report →
Estimated-size surface Storm date Columbus / KS
Jul 29, 2026
0.75" Signatures 0.75" Estimated 0.5"
No ground reports filed Open report →
Estimated-size surface Storm date Columbus / KS
Jun 26, 2026
1" Signatures 1" Estimated 0.5"
No ground reports filed Open report →
Estimated-size surface Storm date Columbus / KS
Jun 16, 2026
1.25" Estimated 1.25"
No ground reports filed Open report →
Estimated-size surface Storm date Columbus / KS
May 30, 2026
1" Signatures 1" Estimated 0.5"
No ground reports filed Open report →
Estimated-size surface Storm date Columbus / KS
Apr 28, 2026
1.75" Signatures 1.75" Estimated 0.75"
No ground reports filed Open report →
Estimated-size surface Storm date Columbus / KS
Apr 26, 2026
2.5" Signatures 2.5" Estimated 1.75"
1 ground report 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.
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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 13, 2026.