Hail in Benson May 14, 2026
NEXRAD caught this storm: 2 hail signatures up to 0.5". The radar-estimated size surface had no signal to model this day.
0.5"
≈ pea to penny · the largest NEXRAD radar signature542
0
none filedThe 5th most severe storm Benson has seen in the last 12 months
Overview's storm severity score weighs hailstone size, homes in the footprint, and ground-truth reports.
- Hail size
- 13 /100
- Homes exposed
- 55 /100
- Ground truth
- 0 /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 Benson 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.
Where NEXRAD flagged hail as the storm passed — point signatures from the radar, which indicate hail overhead rather than confirm what landed.
Only the NEXRAD radar-signature surface resolved for May 14, 2026 — the estimated-size swath had no hail signal to model for this storm, so there is one map to show, not two.
Where May 14, 2026 sits in Benson's hail record
This was Benson's 1st recorded hail day — the first hail day in our records for the city. By severity it ranks 5th of the 7 storms we have logged here. Radar put the day's largest stone over Benson at 0.5" — the largest NEXRAD radar signature.
The May 14, 2026 convective day was bigger than Benson: the same system put hail over 61 other tracked cities, 7 of them in Minnesota. Nearest: Murdock (7 miles south, up to 0.5"); Montevideo (21 miles south, up to 0.5"); Madison (35 miles southwest, up to 1").
These maps are stills from Benson's May 14, 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.
The National Weather Service logged no spotter reports for this storm over Benson. 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.
What 0.5" hail means for Benson roofs
Hail under three-quarters of an inch stays below the National Weather Service severe threshold and rarely breaks shingles outright. But repeated small-hail events accelerate granule loss and shorten roof life — on older roofs, it's still worth a conversation.
$6.5M
Potential roof exposure — 542 homes × the ~$12,000 industry-average hail roof claim. Exposure, not confirmed damage.Track hail over Benson on the live map
Radar updates in real time, spotter reports appear on the map as they're filed, and the full Benson storm history — this May 14, 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
7 recorded storm days in Benson, MN
Other storms in Benson
Jul 7, 2026
0.5"
Jul 6, 2026
1"
Jul 4, 2026
1"
Jun 23, 2026
0.5"
Jun 5, 2026
2.75"
Jun 4, 2026
1.75"