Hail in Hays May 30, 2026
Both radar surfaces caught this storm: NEXRAD logged 44 hail signatures up to 2", and the radar-estimated size reached 0.75" aloft. At 2" — tennis ball — this is severe, roof-replacing hail: close to every roof inside the footprint becomes a claim candidate.
2"
≈ tennis ball · the largest NEXRAD radar signature955
0
none filedThe 2nd 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
- 50 /100
- Homes exposed
- 60 /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 30, 2026 sits in Hays's hail record
This was Hays's 7th recorded hail day, arriving 1 day after the May 29, 2026 storm. By severity it ranks 2nd of the 13 storms we have logged here. Radar put the day's largest stone over Hays at 2" — the largest NEXRAD radar signature.
The May 30, 2026 convective day was bigger than Hays: the same system put hail over 541 other tracked cities, 228 of them in Kansas. Nearest: Victoria (11 miles southeast, up to 0"); Walker (13 miles east, up to 0.75"); Ellis (14 miles west, up to 1.75").
These maps are stills from Hays's May 30, 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 2" hail means for Hays roofs
Two-inch-plus hail punctures shingles, breaks skylights and windows, and dents anything soft. In the core of a footprint like this, close to every roof is a candidate for an insurance claim. Speed decides who writes those jobs.
$11M
Potential roof exposure — 955 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 30, 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 29, 2026
1.75"
May 16, 2026
May 9, 2026
1"
Apr 26, 2026
1.75"
Apr 9, 2026
0.5"
Apr 8, 2026
1"