Hail in Hays May 9, 2026
Both radar surfaces caught this storm: NEXRAD logged 1 hail signature up to 1", and the radar-estimated size reached 0.5" aloft.
1"
≈ quarter · the largest NEXRAD radar signature6
0
none filedThe 10th most severe storm Hays has seen in the last 12 months
Overview's storm severity score weighs hailstone size, homes in the footprint, and ground-truth reports.
- Hail size
- 25 /100
- Homes exposed
- 17 /100
- Ground truth
- 0 /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 Hays saw the hail — from two instruments
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'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.
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.
Where May 9, 2026 sits in Hays's hail record
This was Hays's 4th recorded hail day, arriving 13 days after the Apr 26, 2026 storm. By severity it ranks 10th of the 13 storms we have logged here. Radar put the day's largest stone over Hays at 1" — the largest NEXRAD radar signature.
The May 9, 2026 convective day was bigger than Hays: the same system put hail over 268 other tracked cities, 10 of them in Kansas. Nearest: Ellis (14 miles west, up to 1"); Mc Cracken (23 miles southwest, up to 0.5"); Plainville (24 miles north, up to 1").
These maps are stills from Hays's May 9, 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.
No ground reports were filed with the National Weather Service for this storm over Hays. That is common: a report depends on someone being there to see it and take the time to call it in. The radar surfaces above are the record here — the storm was detected from above even though no one on the ground logged it.
What 1" hail means for Hays 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.
$72K
Potential roof exposure — 6 homes × the ~$12,000 industry-average hail roof claim. Exposure, not confirmed damage.Track hail over Hays on the live map
Radar updates in real time, spotter reports appear on the map as they're filed, and the full Hays storm history — this May 9, 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
13 recorded storm days in Hays, KS
Other storms in Hays
Jul 9, 2026
1"
Jul 1, 2026
Jun 9, 2026
1"
Jun 8, 2026
2.5"
Jun 3, 2026
1.25"
Jun 1, 2026
1"
May 30, 2026
2"
May 29, 2026
1.75"
May 16, 2026
Apr 26, 2026
1.75"
Apr 9, 2026
0.5"
Apr 8, 2026
1"