Tornado Rating unknown
3 WSW Sycamore Montgomery County
“tornado confirmed by spotter. (ICT)”
— NOAA / SPC storm report
/ Storm field report · Montgomery
Hail in Independence · Apr 26, 2026
NEXRAD logged 1 hail signature up to 2.75"; the estimated-size surface reached 2.25" aloft. At 2.75" — baseball — this is a severe hail signal associated with roof damage. Open it on the live map to see the swath over the streets.
A tornado was also reported to the National Weather Service during this storm. The ground reports below show where it was filed.
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Peak hail signal 2.75" ≈ baseball · the largest NEXRAD radar signature
Homes in the hail footprint 17
Ground reports 3 2 hail · 1 tornado
Radar surfaces 2 NEXRAD + estimated size
Convective day · Apr 26, 2026 · noon–noon UTC
Severity
The 2nd most severe storm Independence has seen in the last 12 months
Composite score · 5.8 / 10
Storm severity score
Overview's storm severity score weighs hailstone size, homes in the footprint, and ground-truth reports.
5.8 /10
- Peak hail signal
- 69 /100
- Homes exposed
- 25 /100
- Ground truth
- 67 /100
Largest radar-indicated size — a signal of damage potential, not confirmation.
How many homes sit inside the storm's footprint.
Independent storm reports filed with the NWS.
Evidence / storm surfaces
How Independence saw the hail — from two instruments
Apr 26, 2026 · Independence, KS
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 radar signatures Surface resolved
Radar signature field 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.
Max size
2.75"
Detections
1
Radar-estimated hail size Surface resolved
Estimated size field 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.
Max size
2.25"
The storm in context
Where Apr 26, 2026 sits in Independence's hail record.
This was Independence's 5th recorded hail day, arriving 9 days after the Apr 17, 2026 storm. By severity it ranks 2nd of the 13 storms we have logged here. Radar put the day's largest stone over Independence at 2.75" — the largest NEXRAD radar signature.
The Apr 26, 2026 convective day was bigger than Independence: the same system put hail over 710 other tracked cities, 277 of them in Kansas. Nearest: Cherryvale (11 miles northeast, up to 2.5"); Elk City (13 miles northwest, up to 2.75"); Neodesha (14 miles north, up to 4").
These maps are stills. In the app this date is one of 13 Independence 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
3 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.
Tornado reports
1 reportHail reports
2 reports Hail size 2.5"
Sycamore Montgomery County
“(ICT)”
— NOAA / SPC storm report
Hail size 2.5"
Sycamore Montgomery County
“(ICT)”
— NOAA / SPC storm report
Storm forensics
How the storm moved
Timing and place names from NOAA ground reports
Read from the arrival times and locations of the NOAA ground reports, not a radar-measured storm track.
Hail was reported over 15 minutes, from to .
Reports came from Sycamore — beyond Independence itself.
Severe hail signal
What 2.75" hail means for Independence 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.
17 homes × $12,000 avg. claim
Potential roof exposure
$204K
Potential roof exposure — 17 homes × the ~$12,000 industry-average hail roof claim. Exposure, not confirmed damage.
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 $4 on top of the $150 plan.
Independence hail history
Other storms in Independence.
13 recorded storm days in Independence, KS
Estimated-size surface Storm date Independence / KS
Jul 4, 2026
1" Signatures 1" Estimated 0.5"
No ground reports filed Open report →
Estimated-size surface Storm date Independence / KS
Jun 21, 2026
1.25" Estimated 1.25"
No ground reports filed Open report →
Estimated-size surface Storm date Independence / KS
Jun 16, 2026
0.5" Estimated 0.5"
No ground reports filed Open report →
Estimated-size surface Storm date Independence / KS
Jun 11, 2026
1.25" Estimated 1.25"
No ground reports filed Open report →
Estimated-size surface Storm date Independence / KS
May 31, 2026
1.75" Signatures 1.75" Estimated 1.25"
No ground reports filed Open report →
Estimated-size surface Storm date Independence / KS
May 29, 2026
1" Signatures 1" Estimated 0.5"
No ground reports filed Open report →
Estimated-size surface Storm date Independence / KS
May 4, 2026
0.5" Estimated 0.5"
No ground reports filed Open report →
NEXRAD surface Storm date Independence / KS
Apr 28, 2026
0.75" Signatures 0.75"
No ground reports filed Open report →
Estimated-size surface Storm date Independence / KS
Apr 17, 2026
4" Signatures 4" Estimated 1.5"
No ground reports filed Open report →
Estimated-size surface Storm date Independence / KS
Apr 15, 2026
1.25" Estimated 1.25"
2 ground reports Open report →
Estimated-size surface Storm date Independence / KS
Apr 3, 2026
1.75" Signatures 1.75" Estimated 1"
No ground reports filed Open report →
Estimated-size surface Storm date Independence / KS
Mar 6, 2026
1" Signatures 1" Estimated 0.5"
No ground reports filed Open report →
The next storm won’t wait for you.
Set your territory and alerts today. When hail hits, use Overview to choose your streets and get moving.
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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 3, 2026.