/ Storm field report · Marshall

Hail in Waterville · May 17, 2026

NEXRAD logged 1 hail signature up to 1.75"; the estimated-size surface reached 1" aloft. Open it on the live map to see the swath over the streets.

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Peak hail signal 1.75" ≈ golf ball · the largest NEXRAD radar signature
Homes in the hail footprint 9
Ground reports 1 1 wind
Radar surfaces 2 NEXRAD + estimated size

Convective day · May 17, 2026 · noon–noon UTC

Severity

The 5th most severe storm Waterville has seen in the last 12 months

Composite score · 3.4 / 10
Storm severity score

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

3.4 /10
Peak hail signal
44 /100

Largest radar-indicated size — a signal of damage potential, not confirmation.

Homes exposed
20 /100

How many homes sit inside the storm's footprint.

Ground truth
17 /100

Independent storm reports filed with the NWS.

Evidence / storm surfaces

How Waterville saw the hail — from two instruments

May 17, 2026 · Waterville, KS

We map this storm two ways: the NEXRAD radar signatures the storm produced overhead, and the radar-estimated size of the hail in the air. The two surfaces don’t have to match — where they diverge is where estimated size aloft ran ahead of, or behind, what the signatures caught.

NEXRAD radar signatures Surface resolved
NEXRAD radar-signature map of the hail storm over Waterville, KS on May 17, 2026 Radar signature field

NEXRAD radar signatures — the point detections the storm produced overhead. A signature is where the radar saw hail, not a confirmed stone on the ground.

Max size 1.75" Detections 1
Radar-estimated hail size Surface resolved
Radar-estimated hail-size map of the storm over Waterville, KS on May 17, 2026 Estimated size field

Maximum hail size as estimated from radar aloft. Treat it as the storm's ceiling — the largest supportable stone — rather than a ground measurement.

Max size 1"

The storm in context

Where May 17, 2026 sits in Waterville's hail record.

This was Waterville's 4th recorded hail day, arriving 1 day after the May 16, 2026 storm. By severity it ranks 5th of the 14 storms we have logged here. Radar put the day's largest stone over Waterville at 1.75" — the largest NEXRAD radar signature.

The May 17, 2026 convective day was bigger than Waterville: the same system put hail over 894 other tracked cities, 134 of them in Kansas. Nearest: Barnes (11 miles southwest, up to 1.75"); Blue Rapids (11 miles southeast, up to 1"); Marysville (15 miles north, up to 2.5").

These maps are stills. In the app this date is one of 14 Waterville 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

1 report 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.

Wind reports

1 report
Wind gust 60 mph
4 S Bremen Marshall County

“50-60 mph winds. (TOP)”

— 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.

Reports came from Bremen — beyond Waterville itself.

High damage potential

What 1.75" hail means for Waterville roofs.

Hail around an inch and a half is capable of cracking shingles, stripping granules, and denting gutters, vents, and siding. Risk is usually greatest near the strongest radar signal, but property-level damage still requires an on-site inspection.

Radar reading · not confirmed damage

Roofing exposure

What this storm is worth to a roofer.

9 homes × $12,000 avg. claim

Potential roof exposure

$108K

Potential roof exposure — 9 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 $2 on top of the $150 plan.

Waterville hail history

14 recorded storm days in Waterville, KS
Radar-estimated hail-size map of the storm over Waterville, KS on Sep 12, 2026 Estimated-size surface
Storm date Waterville / KS

Sep 12, 2026

1"
Estimated 1"
No ground reports filed Open report →
Radar-estimated hail-size map of the storm over Waterville, KS on Sep 11, 2026 Estimated-size surface
Storm date Waterville / KS

Sep 11, 2026

0.5"
Estimated 0.5"
No ground reports filed Open report →
Radar-estimated hail-size map of the storm over Waterville, KS on Aug 18, 2026 Estimated-size surface
Storm date Waterville / KS

Aug 18, 2026

1"
Estimated 1"
No ground reports filed Open report →
Radar-estimated hail-size map of the storm over Waterville, KS on Aug 15, 2026 Estimated-size surface
Storm date Waterville / KS

Aug 15, 2026

0.75"
Estimated 0.75"
No ground reports filed Open report →
Radar-estimated hail-size map of the storm over Waterville, KS on Aug 6, 2026 Estimated-size surface
Storm date Waterville / KS

Aug 6, 2026

1"
Estimated 1"
No ground reports filed Open report →
Radar-estimated hail-size map of the storm over Waterville, KS on Jul 8, 2026 Estimated-size surface
Storm date Waterville / KS

Jul 8, 2026

1.75"
Signatures 1.75" Estimated 0.75"
1 ground report Open report →
Radar-estimated hail-size map of the storm over Waterville, KS on Jul 3, 2026 Estimated-size surface
Storm date Waterville / KS

Jul 3, 2026

1"
Signatures 1" Estimated 0.75"
No ground reports filed Open report →
Radar-estimated hail-size map of the storm over Waterville, KS on Jun 13, 2026 Estimated-size surface
Storm date Waterville / KS

Jun 13, 2026

2.5"
Estimated 2.5"
3 ground reports Open report →
Radar-estimated hail-size map of the storm over Waterville, KS on Jun 4, 2026 Estimated-size surface
Storm date Waterville / KS

Jun 4, 2026

0.5"
Estimated 0.5"
No ground reports filed Open report →
Radar-estimated hail-size map of the storm over Waterville, KS on May 18, 2026 Estimated-size surface
Storm date Waterville / KS

May 18, 2026

2.5"
Signatures 2.5" Estimated 1.5"
2 ground reports Open report →
Radar-estimated hail-size map of the storm over Waterville, KS on May 16, 2026 Estimated-size surface
Storm date Waterville / KS

May 16, 2026

No ground reports filed Open report →
Radar-estimated hail-size map of the storm over Waterville, KS on Apr 9, 2026 Estimated-size surface
Storm date Waterville / KS

Apr 9, 2026

2.5"
Signatures 2.5" Estimated 1.25"
No ground reports filed Open report →
Radar-estimated hail-size map of the storm over Waterville, KS on Mar 5, 2026 Estimated-size surface
Storm date Waterville / KS

Mar 5, 2026

1"
Signatures 1"
No ground reports filed Open report →

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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 Sep 13, 2026.