Storm report · Reno

Hail in Pretty Prairie May 18, 2026

Both radar surfaces caught this storm: NEXRAD logged 1 hail signature up to 1.75", and the radar-estimated size reached 1.25" aloft.

Largest hailstone

1.75"

≈ golf ball · the largest NEXRAD radar signature
Homes in the hail footprint

12

Ground reports

0

none filed
Severity

The 4th most severe storm Pretty Prairie has seen in the last 12 months

Storm severity score

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

3.2 /10
Hail size
44 /100

Largest hailstone — the top predictor of roof damage.

Homes exposed
22 /100

How many homes sit inside the storm's footprint.

Ground truth
0 /100

Independent storm reports filed with the NWS.

Two ways to read the storm

How Pretty Prairie saw the hail — from two instruments

The maps here read the same storm from two angles — point detections from NEXRAD, and modeled hail size aloft. Where the two disagree is informative: it marks where estimated size outran the signatures, or trailed them.

NEXRAD radar signatures
NEXRAD radar-signature map of the hail storm over Pretty Prairie, KS on May 18, 2026

Where NEXRAD flagged hail as the storm passed — point signatures from the radar, which indicate hail overhead rather than confirm what landed.

Max size 1.75" Detections 1
Radar-estimated hail size
Radar-estimated hail-size map of the storm over Pretty Prairie, KS on May 18, 2026

The modeled maximum hail size across the swath, derived from radar aloft — the largest stone the storm could have supported, which is not necessarily what reached the ground.

Max size 1.25"
The storm in context

Where May 18, 2026 sits in Pretty Prairie's hail record

This was Pretty Prairie's 5th recorded hail day, arriving 22 days after the Apr 26, 2026 storm. By severity it ranks 4th of the 11 storms we have logged here. Radar put the day's largest stone over Pretty Prairie at 1.75" — the largest NEXRAD radar signature.

The May 18, 2026 convective day was bigger than Pretty Prairie: the same system put hail over 726 other tracked cities, 258 of them in Kansas. Nearest: Murdock (9 miles southeast, up to 1"); Arlington (11 miles west, up to 2"); Haven (13 miles northeast, up to 1.5").

These maps are stills from Pretty Prairie'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.

Ground reports

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 Pretty Prairie. 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.

Widespread claimable damage

What 1.75" hail means for Pretty Prairie roofs

At an inch and a half, hail cracks shingles, strips granules down to the mat, and dents gutters, vents, and siding. A footprint like this typically produces a wave of insurance claims — and the contractor who reaches the homeowner first usually gets the inspection.

What this storm is worth to a roofer

$144K

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

Track hail over Pretty Prairie on the live map

Radar updates in real time, spotter reports appear on the map as they're filed, and the full Pretty Prairie 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

Pretty Prairie hail history

11 recorded storm days in Pretty Prairie, KS

← All hail in Pretty Prairie

Other storms in Pretty Prairie

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 surfaces are detections and estimates, not confirmed damage. Last updated Aug 3, 2026.