Both radar surfaces caught this storm: NEXRAD logged 36 hail signatures up to 1.75", and the radar-estimated size reached 0.75" aloft.
A tornado was also reported to the National Weather Service during this storm — see the ground reports below.
1.75"
≈ golf ball · the largest NEXRAD radar signature539
1
1 tornadoOverview's storm severity score weighs hailstone size, homes in the footprint, and ground-truth reports.
Largest hailstone — the top predictor of roof damage.
How many homes sit inside the storm's footprint.
Independent storm reports filed with the NWS.
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.
Where NEXRAD flagged hail as the storm passed — point signatures from the radar, which indicate hail overhead rather than confirm what landed.
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.
This was Sabetha's 6th recorded hail day, arriving 2 days after the May 16, 2026 storm. By severity it ranks 1st of the 12 storms we have logged here. Radar put the day's largest stone over Sabetha at 1.75" — the largest NEXRAD radar signature.
The May 18, 2026 convective day was bigger than Sabetha: the same system put hail over 726 other tracked cities, 258 of them in Kansas. Nearest: Bern (4 miles northwest, up to 1.75"); Morrill (11 miles east, up to 1.25"); Seneca (13 miles northwest, up to 1.5").
These maps are stills from Sabetha'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.
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.
“At approximately 4:55 PM... a tornado developed near the Nebraska/Kansas border just west of 639 Boulevard... damaging some trees. It continued northeast... crossing 63 (OAX)”
— NOAA / SPC storm report
Reports came from Salem — beyond Sabetha itself.
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.
$6.5M
Potential roof exposure — 539 homes × the ~$12,000 industry-average hail roof claim. Exposure, not confirmed damage.Radar updates in real time, spotter reports appear on the map as they're filed, and the full Sabetha 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 Sabetha, KS
Jul 29, 2026
1"
Jun 20, 2026
0.75"
Jun 13, 2026
0.5"
Jun 10, 2026
0.75"
Jun 6, 2026
1"
Jun 4, 2026
1.75"
May 16, 2026
1.75"
Apr 26, 2026
1"
Apr 23, 2026
1.5"
Apr 11, 2026
0.5"
Mar 5, 2026
1.75"