Hail in Howard May 18, 2026
The radar-estimated size surface caught this storm, reaching 0.5" aloft. NEXRAD logged no point detections over Howard this day.
0.5"
≈ pea to penny · radar-estimated size aloft865
0
none filedThe 7th most severe storm Howard 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
- 13 /100
- Homes exposed
- 59 /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 Howard saw the hail — from two instruments
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 over the swath. The model reports the biggest stone the storm could sustain in the air; what actually fell may have been smaller.
Only the radar-estimated size surface resolved for May 18, 2026 — this storm produced no NEXRAD point detections over Howard, so there is one map to show, not two.
Where May 18, 2026 sits in Howard's hail record
This was Howard's 6th recorded hail day, arriving 22 days after the Apr 26, 2026 storm. By severity it ranks 7th of the 12 storms we have logged here. Radar put the day's largest stone over Howard at 0.5" — radar-estimated size aloft.
The May 18, 2026 convective day was bigger than Howard: the same system put hail over 726 other tracked cities, 258 of them in Kansas. Nearest: Fall River (11 miles north, up to 0.5"); Longton (11 miles south, up to 0.5"); Elk Falls (13 miles southwest, up to 0.5").
These maps are stills from Howard's May 18, 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.
Nobody on the ground filed a report over Howard for this date, which says more about who was watching than about the storm: spotter reports only exist where there is an observer. The radar surfaces above carry the evidence for this one.
What 0.5" hail means for Howard roofs
Hail under three-quarters of an inch stays below the National Weather Service severe threshold and rarely breaks shingles outright. But repeated small-hail events accelerate granule loss and shorten roof life — on older roofs, it's still worth a conversation.
$10M
Potential roof exposure — 865 homes × the ~$12,000 industry-average hail roof claim. Exposure, not confirmed damage.Track hail over Howard on the live map
Radar updates in real time, spotter reports appear on the map as they're filed, and the full Howard storm history — this May 18, 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
12 recorded storm days in Howard, KS
Other storms in Howard
Jul 10, 2026
1.75"
Jun 25, 2026
1.75"
Jun 18, 2026
0.5"
Jun 13, 2026
0.5"
May 31, 2026
1.75"
May 23, 2026
0.5"
Apr 26, 2026
1"
Apr 17, 2026
1.75"
Apr 3, 2026
2"
Mar 31, 2026
1"
Mar 5, 2026