“Mostly pea size hail with a few quarters mixed in. (ICT)”
— NOAA / SPC storm report
Hail in Russell · May 17, 2026
NEXRAD logged 30 hail signatures up to 2.5"; the estimated-size surface reached 2.25" aloft. At 2.5" — baseball — this is a severe hail signal associated with roof damage. Open it on the live map to see the swath over the streets.
Convective day · May 17, 2026 · noon–noon UTC
Severity
The most severe storm Russell has seen in the last 12 months
Overview's storm severity score weighs hailstone size, homes in the footprint, and ground-truth reports.
- Peak hail signal
- 63 /100
- Homes exposed
- 49 /100
- Ground truth
- 83 /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 Russell saw the hail — from two instruments
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.
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.
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.
The storm in context
Where May 17, 2026 sits in Russell's hail record.
This was Russell's 4th recorded hail day, arriving 21 days after the Apr 26, 2026 storm. By severity it ranks 1st of the 11 storms we have logged here. Radar put the day's largest stone over Russell at 2.5" — the largest NEXRAD radar signature.
The May 17, 2026 convective day was bigger than Russell: the same system put hail over 894 other tracked cities, 134 of them in Kansas. Nearest: Hoisington (7 miles south, up to 2.5"); Dorrance (11 miles east, up to 4"); Otis (15 miles southwest, up to 2.5").
These maps are stills. In the app this date is one of 11 Russell 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
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
5 reports“(ICT)”
— NOAA / SPC storm report
“2.25 inch hail measured. (ICT)”
— NOAA / SPC storm report
“Report from mPING: Quarter (1.00 in.). (ICT)”
— NOAA / SPC storm report
“(ICT)”
— NOAA / SPC storm report
Storm forensics
How the storm moved
Read from the arrival times and locations of the NOAA ground reports, not a radar-measured storm track.
Hail was reported over 225 minutes, from to .
Reports came from Susank and Milberger — beyond Russell itself.
Severe hail signal
What 2.5" hail means for Russell 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.
Potential roof exposure
$3.2M
Potential roof exposure — 268 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 268 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 $56 on top of the $150 plan.
Russell hail history
Other storms in Russell.
Estimated-size surface Aug 26, 2026
0.5"
Estimated-size surface Aug 15, 2026
0.5"
Estimated-size surface Aug 13, 2026
0.5"
Estimated-size surface Aug 4, 2026
0.5"
Estimated-size surface Jun 8, 2026
1.75"
Estimated-size surface May 30, 2026
1.75"
Estimated-size surface May 29, 2026
1"
Estimated-size surface Apr 26, 2026
1.75"
Estimated-size surface Apr 9, 2026
0.5"
Estimated-size surface Apr 8, 2026
0.75"The next storm won’t wait for you.
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