Hail size 1"
2 NNW Butler Bates County
“Delayed social media report. Downed tree limbs in the area as well. Hail covered the ground. Time estimated from radar. (EAX)”
— NOAA / SPC storm report
Hail in Butler May 8, 2026
Both radar surfaces caught this storm: NEXRAD logged 13 hail signatures up to 2.25", and the radar-estimated size reached 1" aloft. At 2.25" — tennis ball — this is severe, roof-replacing hail: close to every roof inside the footprint becomes a claim candidate.
Largest hailstone
2.25"
≈ tennis ball · the largest NEXRAD radar signature Homes in the hail footprint
2,619
Ground reports
4
3 hail · 1 windThe most severe storm Butler 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.
6.1 /10
- Hail size
- 56 /100
- Homes exposed
- 68 /100
- Ground truth
- 67 /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 Butler 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.
NEXRAD radar signatures
NEXRAD's hail signatures for this storm: the spots the radar detected from above. A detection overhead is not the same thing as a confirmed stone below.
Max size
2.25"
Detections
13
Radar-estimated hail size
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.
Max size
1"
Where May 8, 2026 sits in Butler's hail record
This was Butler's 9th recorded hail day, arriving 4 days after the May 4, 2026 storm. By severity it ranks 1st of the 14 storms we have logged here. Radar put the day's largest stone over Butler at 2.25" — the largest NEXRAD radar signature.
The May 8, 2026 convective day was bigger than Butler: the same system put hail over 378 other tracked cities, 10 of them in Missouri. Nearest: Rich Hill (11 miles south, up to 0.75"); Amoret (13 miles northwest, up to 1.75"); Appleton City (16 miles east, up to 1.75").
These maps are stills from Butler's May 8, 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
3 reports Hail size 1"
Butler Bates County
“Delayed social media report of up to quarter size hail covering the ground in Butler. Time estimated from radar. (EAX)”
— NOAA / SPC storm report
Hail size 1"
Butler Bates County
“Delayed report. Several tree limbs down as well. Time confirmed from radar. (EAX)”
— NOAA / SPC storm report
Wind reports
1 report Wind gust 70 mph
2 E Butler Bates County
“Social media report and video. Winds estimated to 70 mph downed trees and limbs at a farm residence east of Butler. Video shows zero visibility in rain and hail at time (EAX)”
— NOAA / SPC storm report
What 2.25" hail means for Butler roofs
Two-inch-plus hail punctures shingles, breaks skylights and windows, and dents anything soft. In the core of a footprint like this, close to every roof is a candidate for an insurance claim. Speed decides who writes those jobs.
What this storm is worth to a roofer
$31M
Potential roof exposure — 2,619 homes × the ~$12,000 industry-average hail roof claim. Exposure, not confirmed damage.
Illustrative jobs
13 jobs
Illustrative work
~$195K
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 Butler on the live map
Radar updates in real time, spotter reports appear on the map as they're filed, and the full Butler storm history — this May 8, 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
Butler hail history
← All hail in Butler 14 recorded storm days in Butler, MO
Other storms in Butler
Jul 4, 2026
0.5" Estimated 0.5"
1
ground report 
Jun 17, 2026
0.5" Estimated 0.5"
No ground reports filed 
Jun 11, 2026
0.5" Estimated 0.5"
No ground reports filed 
Jun 8, 2026
1" Signatures 1" Estimated 0.5"
No ground reports filed 
May 31, 2026
1" Signatures 1" Estimated 0.5"
No ground reports filed 
May 4, 2026
0.5" Estimated 0.5"
No ground reports filed 
Apr 27, 2026
2.25" Signatures 2.25" Estimated 1"
No ground reports filed 
Apr 26, 2026
1" Signatures 1" Estimated 0.5"
No ground reports filed 
Apr 17, 2026
1" Signatures 1" Estimated 0.5"
No ground reports filed 
Apr 15, 2026
0.75" Estimated 0.75"
No ground reports filed 
Apr 13, 2026
1" Signatures 0.75" Estimated 1"
No ground reports filed 
Apr 12, 2026
Mar 26, 2026
1" Signatures 1"
No ground reports filed
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.