Hail in Valley Falls · May 18, 2026
The estimated-size surface reached 0.5" aloft; NEXRAD logged no point detections over Valley Falls that day. Open it on the live map to see the swath over the streets.
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Convective day · May 18, 2026 · noon–noon UTC
Severity
The 8th most severe storm Valley Falls 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
- 13 /100
- Homes exposed
- 35 /100
- Ground truth
- 0 /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 Falls 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.
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.
Only the radar-estimated size surface resolved for May 18, 2026 — this storm produced no NEXRAD point detections over Valley Falls, so there is one map to show, not two.
The storm in context
Where May 18, 2026 sits in Valley Falls's hail record.
This was Valley Falls's 4th recorded hail day, arriving 22 days after the Apr 26, 2026 storm. By severity it ranks 8th of the 8 storms we have logged here. Radar put the day's largest stone over Valley Falls at 0.5" — radar-estimated size aloft.
The May 18, 2026 convective day was bigger than Valley Falls: the same system put hail over 726 other tracked cities, 258 of them in Kansas. Nearest: Meriden (6 miles southwest, up to 0.5"); Nortonville (7 miles north, up to 0.75"); Oskaloosa (9 miles southeast, up to 0.5").
These maps are stills. In the app this date is one of 8 Valley Falls 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.
The National Weather Service logged no spotter reports for this storm over Valley Falls. That absence is ordinary — filing a report takes a person on the spot who saw the hail and phoned it in. What stands as the record for this date is the radar above, which caught the storm regardless.
Below the severe threshold
What 0.5" hail means for Valley Falls roofs.
Radar signals under three-quarters of an inch stay below the National Weather Service severe threshold and generally indicate lower roof risk. Older or already-worn materials can still show effects, but radar alone cannot determine whether a specific roof was damaged.
Radar reading · not confirmed damage
Roofing exposure
What this storm is worth to a roofer.
Potential roof exposure
$648K
Potential roof exposure — 54 homes × the ~$12,000 industry-average hail roof claim. Exposure, not confirmed damage.
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 $11 on top of the $150 plan.
Valley Falls hail history
Other storms in Valley Falls.
Aug 18, 2026
1.75"
Estimated-size surface Jul 8, 2026
1.75"
Estimated-size surface Jul 3, 2026
1.5"
Estimated-size surface May 31, 2026
1.75"
Estimated-size surface Apr 26, 2026
1"
Estimated-size surface Apr 17, 2026
1.25"
Estimated-size surface Mar 5, 2026
1.75"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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