Hail size 1.5"
1 WSW Whitewater Harvey County
“Pea to ping pong ball sized hail. (ICT)”
— NOAA / SPC storm report
/ Storm field report · Sedgwick
Hail in Valley Center · Apr 17, 2026
NEXRAD logged 63 hail signatures up to 3.25"; the estimated-size surface reached 1.25" aloft. At 3.25" — baseball — 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 3.25" ≈ baseball · the largest NEXRAD radar signature
Homes in the hail footprint 13,024
Ground reports 6 6 hail
Radar surfaces 2 NEXRAD + estimated size
Convective day · Apr 17, 2026 · noon–noon UTC
Severity
The most severe storm Valley Center 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
- 81 /100
- Homes exposed
- 82 /100
- Ground truth
- 100 /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 Valley Center saw the hail — from two instruments
Apr 17, 2026 · Valley Center, KS
Each storm gets two readings: the radar signatures NEXRAD recorded as the cells passed overhead, and a modeled estimate of hail size in the air. They are independent surfaces, so a mismatch between them is expected — and worth reading.
NEXRAD radar signatures Surface resolved
Radar signature field The point detections NEXRAD recorded overhead. Each signature marks where the radar saw hail aloft — it is a detection, not a stone measured on the ground.
Max size
3.25"
Detections
63
Radar-estimated hail size Surface resolved
Estimated size field Radar-estimated hail size over the swath. The model reports the biggest stone the storm could sustain in the air; what actually fell may have been smaller.
Max size
1.25"
The storm in context
Where Apr 17, 2026 sits in Valley Center's hail record.
This was Valley Center's 3rd recorded hail day, arriving 22 days after the Mar 26, 2026 storm. By severity it ranks 1st of the 9 storms we have logged here. Radar put the day's largest stone over Valley Center at 3.25" — the largest NEXRAD radar signature.
The Apr 17, 2026 convective day was bigger than Valley Center: the same system put hail over 1,016 other tracked cities, 144 of them in Kansas. Nearest: Sedgwick (6 miles northwest, up to 2.75"); Whitewater (11 miles east, up to 2.75"); Benton (11 miles east, up to 1.75").
These maps are stills. In the app this date is one of 9 Valley Center 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
6 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
6 reports Hail size 1.25"
1 E Bel Aire Sedgwick County
“Half dollar hail via mPING. (ICT)”
— NOAA / SPC storm report
Hail size 1"
2 WNW Benton Butler County
“(ICT)”
— NOAA / SPC storm report
Hail size 1"
Whitewater Butler County
“Relayed from local fire department. (ICT)”
— NOAA / SPC storm report
Hail size 1"
4 SSE Maize Sedgwick County
“(ICT)”
— NOAA / SPC storm report
Hail size 1.5"
Valley Center Sedgwick 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.
The storm tracked east at roughly 15 mph, based on the timing of ground reports.
Hail was reported over 61 minutes, from to .
Reports came from Whitewater, Bel Aire, Benton, and Maize — beyond Valley Center itself.
Severe hail signal
What 3.25" hail means for Valley Center 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.
13,024 homes × $12,000 avg. claim
Potential roof exposure
$156M
Potential roof exposure — 13,024 homes × the ~$12,000 industry-average hail roof claim. Exposure, not confirmed damage.
- Illustrative jobs
- 65 jobs
- Illustrative work
- ~$975K
Close just 0.5% of the 13,024 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
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 $2,735 on top of the $150 plan.
Valley Center hail history
Other storms in Valley Center.
9 recorded storm days in Valley Center, KS
Estimated-size surface Storm date Valley Center / KS
Jun 25, 2026
1" Signatures 1" Estimated 0.5"
No ground reports filed Open report →
Estimated-size surface Storm date Valley Center / KS
May 30, 2026
2.5" Signatures 2.5" Estimated 1.75"
1 ground report Open report →
NEXRAD surface Storm date Valley Center / KS
May 29, 2026
0.75" Signatures 0.75"
No ground reports filed Open report →
Estimated-size surface Storm date Valley Center / KS
May 18, 2026
1" Estimated 1"
1 ground report Open report →
Estimated-size surface Storm date Valley Center / KS
May 4, 2026
1.75" Signatures 1.75" Estimated 1.25"
No ground reports filed Open report →
Estimated-size surface Storm date Valley Center / KS
Apr 23, 2026
1.75" Signatures 1.75" Estimated 1"
3 ground reports Open report →
NEXRAD surface Storm date Valley Center / KS
Mar 26, 2026
No ground reports filed Open report →
Estimated-size surface Storm date Valley Center / KS
Mar 10, 2026
1" Estimated 1"
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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For iPhone. Android coming soon.
Web trial: 7 days free. Card required. $150/month after the trial unless cancelled.
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 2, 2026.