Hail size 1.25"
Rush Center Rush County
“Half-dollar sized hail reported. (DDC)”
— NOAA / SPC storm report
/ Storm field report · Rush
Hail in La Crosse · May 17, 2026
NEXRAD logged 0 hail signatures up to 4"; the estimated-size surface reached 3" aloft. At 4" — softball or larger — 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 4" ≈ softball or larger · the largest NEXRAD radar signature
Homes in the hail footprint 1,870
Ground reports 3 3 hail
Radar surfaces 2 NEXRAD + estimated size
Convective day · May 17, 2026 · noon–noon UTC
Severity
The 2nd most severe storm La Crosse has seen in the last 12 months
Composite score · 8.4 / 10
Storm severity score
Overview's storm severity score weighs hailstone size, homes in the footprint, and ground-truth reports.
8.4 /10
- Peak hail signal
- 100 /100
- Homes exposed
- 65 /100
- Ground truth
- 50 /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 La Crosse saw the hail — from two instruments
May 17, 2026 · La Crosse, 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
4"
Detections
0
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
3"
The storm in context
Where May 17, 2026 sits in La Crosse's hail record.
This was La Crosse's 5th recorded hail day, arriving 21 days after the Apr 26, 2026 storm. By severity it ranks 2nd of the 13 storms we have logged here. Radar put the day's largest stone over La Crosse at 4" — the largest NEXRAD radar signature.
The May 17, 2026 convective day was bigger than La Crosse: the same system put hail over 894 other tracked cities, 134 of them in Kansas. Nearest: Bison (9 miles southeast, up to 2.5"); Otis (13 miles east, up to 2.5"); Alexander (13 miles southwest, up to 2.5").
These maps are stills. In the app this date is one of 13 La Crosse 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.
Hail reports
3 reports Hail size 1.25"
2 N Rush Center Rush County
“County dispatch reported half-dollar sized hail. (DDC)”
— NOAA / SPC storm report
Hail size 2"
Nekoma Rush County
“Report received from social media. (DDC)”
— 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 41 minutes, from to .
Reports came from Rush Center and Nekoma — beyond La Crosse itself.
Severe hail signal
What 4" hail means for La Crosse 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.
1,870 homes × $12,000 avg. claim
Potential roof exposure
$22M
Potential roof exposure — 1,870 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 1,870 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 $393 on top of the $150 plan.
La Crosse hail history
Other storms in La Crosse.
13 recorded storm days in La Crosse, KS
Estimated-size surface Storm date La Crosse / KS
Sep 5, 2026
1" Estimated 1"
No ground reports filed Open report →
Estimated-size surface Storm date La Crosse / KS
Aug 21, 2026
0.5" Estimated 0.5"
No ground reports filed Open report →
Estimated-size surface Storm date La Crosse / KS
Aug 13, 2026
1" Estimated 1"
No ground reports filed Open report →
Estimated-size surface Storm date La Crosse / KS
Jul 3, 2026
No ground reports filed Open report →
NEXRAD surface Storm date La Crosse / KS
Jul 1, 2026
0.75" Signatures 0.75"
No ground reports filed Open report →
Estimated-size surface Storm date La Crosse / KS
Jun 15, 2026
0.75" Estimated 0.75"
No ground reports filed Open report →
Estimated-size surface Storm date La Crosse / KS
Jun 1, 2026
1" Signatures 1" Estimated 0.5"
No ground reports filed Open report →
Estimated-size surface Storm date La Crosse / KS
May 30, 2026
1.75" Signatures 1.75" Estimated 1"
1 ground report Open report →
Estimated-size surface Storm date La Crosse / KS
Apr 26, 2026
1.5" Signatures 1.5" Estimated 0.75"
No ground reports filed Open report →
Estimated-size surface Storm date La Crosse / KS
Apr 25, 2026
4" Signatures 4" Estimated 2.5"
6 ground reports Open report →
Estimated-size surface Storm date La Crosse / KS
Apr 9, 2026
0.5" Signatures 0.5"
No ground reports filed Open report →
Estimated-size surface Storm date La Crosse / KS
Apr 8, 2026
0.5" Estimated 0.5"
No ground reports filed Open report →
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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 Sep 6, 2026.