/ Storm field report · Ellis

Hail in Hays · May 29, 2026

NEXRAD logged 0 hail signatures up to 1.75"; the estimated-size surface reached 1" 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 1,778
Ground reports 1 1 wind
Radar surfaces 2 NEXRAD + estimated size

Convective day · May 29, 2026 · noon–noon UTC

Severity

The 2nd most severe storm Hays has seen in the last 12 months

Composite score · 4.5 / 10
Storm severity score

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

4.5 /10
Peak hail signal
44 /100

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

Homes exposed
65 /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 Hays saw the hail — from two instruments

May 29, 2026 · Hays, 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 Hays, KS on May 29, 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 0
Radar-estimated hail size Surface resolved
Radar-estimated hail-size map of the storm over Hays, KS on May 29, 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"

The storm in context

Where May 29, 2026 sits in Hays's hail record.

This was Hays's 6th recorded hail day, arriving 13 days after the May 16, 2026 storm. By severity it ranks 2nd of the 14 storms we have logged here. Radar put the day's largest stone over Hays at 1.75" — the largest NEXRAD radar signature.

The May 29, 2026 convective day was bigger than Hays: the same system put hail over 350 other tracked cities, 116 of them in Kansas. Nearest: Mc Cracken (15 miles southwest, up to 1.75"); Alexander (18 miles southwest, up to 1"); Walker (18 miles northeast, up to 1").

These maps are stills. In the app this date is one of 14 Hays 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.

Wind reports

1 report
Wind gust 58 mph
4 SSW Hays Ellis County

“Personal Ambient Weather Station. (DDC)”

— NOAA / SPC storm report

High damage potential

What 1.75" hail means for Hays 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.

1,778 homes × $12,000 avg. claim

Potential roof exposure

$21M

Potential roof exposure — 1,778 homes × the ~$12,000 industry-average hail roof claim. Exposure, not confirmed damage.

Illustrative jobs
9 jobs
Illustrative work
~$135K

Close just 0.5% of the 1,778 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 $373 on top of the $150 plan.

Hays hail history

Other storms in Hays.

14 recorded storm days in Hays, KS
← All hail in Hays
Radar-estimated hail-size map of the storm over Hays, KS on Aug 15, 2026 Estimated-size surface
Storm date Hays / KS

Aug 15, 2026

0.5"
Estimated 0.5"
No ground reports filed Open report →
Radar-estimated hail-size map of the storm over Hays, KS on Jul 9, 2026 Estimated-size surface
Storm date Hays / KS

Jul 9, 2026

1"
Signatures 1" Estimated 0.5"
2 ground reports Open report →
Radar-estimated hail-size map of the storm over Hays, KS on Jul 1, 2026 Estimated-size surface
Storm date Hays / KS

Jul 1, 2026

No ground reports filed Open report →
Radar-estimated hail-size map of the storm over Hays, KS on Jun 9, 2026 Estimated-size surface
Storm date Hays / KS

Jun 9, 2026

1"
Signatures 1" Estimated 0.5"
No ground reports filed Open report →
Radar-estimated hail-size map of the storm over Hays, KS on Jun 8, 2026 Estimated-size surface
Storm date Hays / KS

Jun 8, 2026

2.5"
Signatures 2.5" Estimated 1.75"
2 ground reports Open report →
Radar-estimated hail-size map of the storm over Hays, KS on Jun 3, 2026 Estimated-size surface
Storm date Hays / KS

Jun 3, 2026

1.25"
Signatures 1.25" Estimated 0.75"
No ground reports filed Open report →
Radar-estimated hail-size map of the storm over Hays, KS on Jun 1, 2026 Estimated-size surface
Storm date Hays / KS

Jun 1, 2026

1"
Signatures 1"
No ground reports filed Open report →
Radar-estimated hail-size map of the storm over Hays, KS on May 30, 2026 Estimated-size surface
Storm date Hays / KS

May 30, 2026

2"
Signatures 2" Estimated 0.75"
No ground reports filed Open report →
Radar-estimated hail-size map of the storm over Hays, KS on May 16, 2026 Estimated-size surface
Storm date Hays / KS

May 16, 2026

No ground reports filed Open report →
Radar-estimated hail-size map of the storm over Hays, KS on May 9, 2026 Estimated-size surface
Storm date Hays / KS

May 9, 2026

1"
Signatures 1" Estimated 0.5"
No ground reports filed Open report →
Radar-estimated hail-size map of the storm over Hays, KS on Apr 26, 2026 Estimated-size surface
Storm date Hays / KS

Apr 26, 2026

1.75"
Signatures 1.75" Estimated 0.75"
No ground reports filed Open report →
Radar-estimated hail-size map of the storm over Hays, KS on Apr 9, 2026 Estimated-size surface
Storm date Hays / KS

Apr 9, 2026

0.5"
Signatures 0.5"
No ground reports filed Open report →
Radar-estimated hail-size map of the storm over Hays, KS on Apr 8, 2026 Estimated-size surface
Storm date Hays / KS

Apr 8, 2026

1"
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 Aug 16, 2026.