Tornado Rating unknown
Whitewater Butler County
“[Landspout] (ICT)”
— NOAA / SPC storm report
/ Storm field report · Butler
Hail in Whitewater · Apr 23, 2026
NEXRAD logged 1 hail signature up to 2.5"; the estimated-size surface reached 1.75" 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.
A tornado was also reported to the National Weather Service during this storm. The ground reports below show where it was filed.
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Peak hail signal 2.5" ≈ baseball · the largest NEXRAD radar signature
Homes in the hail footprint 16
Ground reports 3 2 hail · 1 tornado
Radar surfaces 2 NEXRAD + estimated size
Convective day · Apr 23, 2026 · noon–noon UTC
Severity
The 2nd most severe storm Whitewater has seen in the last 12 months
Composite score · 5.4 / 10
Storm severity score
Overview's storm severity score weighs hailstone size, homes in the footprint, and ground-truth reports.
5.4 /10
- Peak hail signal
- 63 /100
- Homes exposed
- 25 /100
- Ground truth
- 67 /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 Whitewater saw the hail — from two instruments
Apr 23, 2026 · Whitewater, 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
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
2.5"
Detections
1
Radar-estimated hail size Surface resolved
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
1.75"
The storm in context
Where Apr 23, 2026 sits in Whitewater's hail record.
This was Whitewater's 5th recorded hail day, arriving 6 days after the Apr 17, 2026 storm. By severity it ranks 2nd of the 9 storms we have logged here. Radar put the day's largest stone over Whitewater at 2.5" — the largest NEXRAD radar signature.
The Apr 23, 2026 convective day was bigger than Whitewater: the same system put hail over 703 other tracked cities, 147 of them in Kansas. Nearest: Towanda (5 miles east, up to 1.75"); Benton (7 miles south, up to 1.75"); Potwin (9 miles northeast, up to 1.75").
These maps are stills. In the app this date is one of 9 Whitewater 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
3 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.
Tornado reports
1 reportHail reports
2 reports Hail size 2"
Elbing Butler County
“Delayed report. Relayed via emergency manager with picture. (ICT)”
— NOAA / SPC storm report
Hail size 1.25"
5 NNW Benton Butler County
“Delayed report. Relayed via NWS employee. (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 south at roughly 20 mph, based on the timing of ground reports.
Hail was reported over 40 minutes, from to .
Reports came from Elbing and Benton — beyond Whitewater itself.
Severe hail signal
What 2.5" hail means for Whitewater 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.
16 homes × $12,000 avg. claim
Potential roof exposure
$192K
Potential roof exposure — 16 homes × the ~$12,000 industry-average hail roof claim. Exposure, not confirmed damage.
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 $3 on top of the $150 plan.
Whitewater hail history
Other storms in Whitewater.
9 recorded storm days in Whitewater, KS
Estimated-size surface Storm date Whitewater / KS
Aug 7, 2026
0.75" Estimated 0.75"
No ground reports filed Open report →
NEXRAD surface Storm date Whitewater / KS
Jul 22, 2026
1" Signatures 1"
No ground reports filed Open report →
Estimated-size surface Storm date Whitewater / KS
Jun 25, 2026
1.75" Signatures 1.75" Estimated 0.5"
No ground reports filed Open report →
Estimated-size surface Storm date Whitewater / KS
May 30, 2026
2.5" Signatures 2.5" Estimated 1.25"
No ground reports filed Open report →
Estimated-size surface Storm date Whitewater / KS
Apr 17, 2026
2.75" Signatures 2.75" Estimated 1.25"
1 ground report Open report →
Estimated-size surface Storm date Whitewater / KS
Apr 11, 2026
1.25" Signatures 1.25" Estimated 0.5"
No ground reports filed Open report →
NEXRAD surface Storm date Whitewater / KS
Apr 10, 2026
No ground reports filed Open report →
Estimated-size surface Storm date Whitewater / KS
Mar 10, 2026
0.75" Estimated 0.75"
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 Aug 8, 2026.