Hail size 1"
Louisville Jefferson County
“Quarter size hail reported throughout downtown Louisville. (LMK)”
— NOAA / SPC storm report
Hail in Louisville May 16, 2026
Both radar surfaces caught this storm: NEXRAD logged 57 hail signatures up to 1.75", and the radar-estimated size reached 1" aloft.
Largest hailstone
1.75"
≈ golf ball · the largest NEXRAD radar signature Homes in the hail footprint
65,525
Ground reports
1
1 hailThe most severe storm Louisville has seen in the last 12 months
Storm severity score
Overview's storm severity score weighs hailstone size, homes in the footprint, and ground-truth reports.
5.3 /10
- Hail size
- 44 /100
- Homes exposed
- 96 /100
- Ground truth
- 17 /100
Largest hailstone — the top predictor of roof damage.
How many homes sit inside the storm's footprint.
Independent storm reports filed with the NWS.
How Louisville saw the hail — from two instruments
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.
NEXRAD radar signatures
Where NEXRAD flagged hail as the storm passed — point signatures from the radar, which indicate hail overhead rather than confirm what landed.
Max size
1.75"
Detections
57
Radar-estimated hail size
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.
Max size
1"
Where May 16, 2026 sits in Louisville's hail record
This was Louisville's 4th recorded hail day, arriving 13 days after the May 3, 2026 storm. By severity it ranks 1st of the 11 storms we have logged here. Radar put the day's largest stone over Louisville at 1.75" — the largest NEXRAD radar signature.
The May 16, 2026 convective day was bigger than Louisville: the same system put hail over 711 other tracked cities, 33 of them in Kentucky. Nearest: Jeffersonville (9 miles northwest, up to 1.75"); Taylorsville (13 miles southeast, up to 1"); Goshen (14 miles north, up to 1.75").
These maps are stills from Louisville's May 16, 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.
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.
Hail reports
1 reportWhat 1.75" hail means for Louisville roofs
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.
What this storm is worth to a roofer
$786M
Potential roof exposure — 65,525 homes × the ~$12,000 industry-average hail roof claim. Exposure, not confirmed damage.
Illustrative jobs
328 jobs
Illustrative work
~$4.9M
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.
Track hail over Louisville on the live map
Radar updates in real time, spotter reports appear on the map as they're filed, and the full Louisville storm history — this May 16, 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
Louisville hail history
← All hail in Louisville 11 recorded storm days in Louisville, KY
Other storms in Louisville
Jul 21, 2026
1" Signatures 1" Estimated 0.5"
No ground reports filed 
Jul 17, 2026
0.5" Estimated 0.5"
No ground reports filed 
Jul 8, 2026
1.25" Signatures 1.25" Estimated 0.5"
No ground reports filed 
Jul 4, 2026
1" Signatures 1" Estimated 0.5"
No ground reports filed 
Jun 26, 2026
Jun 11, 2026
0.5" Estimated 0.5"
No ground reports filed 
May 19, 2026
0.5" Estimated 0.5"
No ground reports filed 
May 3, 2026
Apr 1, 2026
1.5" Signatures 1.5" Estimated 0.5"
No ground reports filed 
Mar 22, 2026
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 surfaces are detections and estimates,
not confirmed damage. Last updated Aug 3, 2026.