/ Storm field report · Elk

Hail in Howard · Apr 3, 2026

NEXRAD logged 45 hail signatures up to 2"; the estimated-size surface reached 1" aloft. At 2" — tennis ball — this is a severe hail signal associated with roof damage. Open it on the live map to see the swath over the streets.

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Peak hail signal 2" ≈ tennis ball · the largest NEXRAD radar signature
Homes in the hail footprint 177
Ground reports 0 none filed
Radar surfaces 2 NEXRAD + estimated size

Convective day · Apr 3, 2026 · noon–noon UTC

Severity

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

Composite score · 4.1 / 10
Storm severity score

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

4.1 /10
Peak hail signal
50 /100

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

Homes exposed
45 /100

How many homes sit inside the storm's footprint.

Ground truth
0 /100

Independent storm reports filed with the NWS.

Evidence / storm surfaces

How Howard saw the hail — from two instruments

Apr 3, 2026 · Howard, 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 Howard, KS on Apr 3, 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 2" Detections 45
Radar-estimated hail size Surface resolved
Radar-estimated hail-size map of the storm over Howard, KS on Apr 3, 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 Apr 3, 2026 sits in Howard's hail record.

This was Howard's 3rd recorded hail day, arriving 3 days after the Mar 31, 2026 storm. By severity it ranks 2nd of the 13 storms we have logged here. Radar put the day's largest stone over Howard at 2" — the largest NEXRAD radar signature.

The Apr 3, 2026 convective day was bigger than Howard: the same system put hail over 367 other tracked cities, 53 of them in Kansas. Nearest: Severy (3 miles north, up to 1.75"); Fall River (11 miles northeast, up to 1.5"); Moline (18 miles south, up to 1.75").

These maps are stills. In the app this date is one of 13 Howard 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

No 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.

The National Weather Service logged no spotter reports for this storm over Howard. That absence is ordinary — filing a report takes a person on the spot who saw the hail and phoned it in. What stands as the record for this date is the radar above, which caught the storm regardless.

Severe hail signal

What 2" hail means for Howard 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.

177 homes × $12,000 avg. claim

Potential roof exposure

$2.1M

Potential roof exposure — 177 homes × the ~$12,000 industry-average hail roof claim. Exposure, not confirmed damage.

Illustrative jobs
1 job
Illustrative work
~$15K

Close just 0.5% of the 177 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 $37 on top of the $150 plan.

Howard hail history

13 recorded storm days in Howard, KS
Radar-estimated hail-size map of the storm over Howard, KS on Aug 5, 2026 Estimated-size surface
Storm date Howard / KS

Aug 5, 2026

1.75"
Estimated 1.75"
3 ground reports Open report →
Radar-estimated hail-size map of the storm over Howard, KS on Jul 10, 2026 Estimated-size surface
Storm date Howard / KS

Jul 10, 2026

1.75"
Signatures 1.75" Estimated 1"
No ground reports filed Open report →
Radar-estimated hail-size map of the storm over Howard, KS on Jun 25, 2026 Estimated-size surface
Storm date Howard / KS

Jun 25, 2026

1.75"
Signatures 1.75" Estimated 1"
No ground reports filed Open report →
Radar-estimated hail-size map of the storm over Howard, KS on Jun 18, 2026 Estimated-size surface
Storm date Howard / KS

Jun 18, 2026

0.5"
Estimated 0.5"
No ground reports filed Open report →
Radar-estimated hail-size map of the storm over Howard, KS on Jun 13, 2026 Estimated-size surface
Storm date Howard / KS

Jun 13, 2026

0.5"
Estimated 0.5"
No ground reports filed Open report →
Radar-estimated hail-size map of the storm over Howard, KS on May 31, 2026 Estimated-size surface
Storm date Howard / KS

May 31, 2026

1.75"
Signatures 1.75" Estimated 0.75"
No ground reports filed Open report →
Radar-estimated hail-size map of the storm over Howard, KS on May 23, 2026 Estimated-size surface
Storm date Howard / KS

May 23, 2026

0.5"
Estimated 0.5"
No ground reports filed Open report →
Radar-estimated hail-size map of the storm over Howard, KS on May 18, 2026 Estimated-size surface
Storm date Howard / KS

May 18, 2026

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

Apr 26, 2026

1"
Signatures 1" Estimated 0.5"
No ground reports filed Open report →
Radar-estimated hail-size map of the storm over Howard, KS on Apr 17, 2026 Estimated-size surface
Storm date Howard / KS

Apr 17, 2026

1.75"
Signatures 1.75" Estimated 0.75"
No ground reports filed Open report →
Radar-estimated hail-size map of the storm over Howard, KS on Mar 31, 2026 Estimated-size surface
Storm date Howard / KS

Mar 31, 2026

1"
Signatures 1" Estimated 0.75"
No ground reports filed Open report →
Radar-estimated hail-size map of the storm over Howard, KS on Mar 5, 2026 Estimated-size surface
Storm date Howard / KS

Mar 5, 2026

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 6, 2026.