Hail in Cedar Rapids May 17, 2026
Both radar surfaces caught this storm: NEXRAD logged 17 hail signatures up to 2", and the radar-estimated size reached 2" aloft. At 2" — tennis ball — this is severe, roof-replacing hail: close to every roof inside the footprint becomes a claim candidate.
2"
≈ tennis ball · radar-estimated size aloft211
0
none filedThe 2nd most severe storm Cedar Rapids 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
- 50 /100
- Homes exposed
- 47 /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 Cedar Rapids 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.
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.
Where May 17, 2026 sits in Cedar Rapids's hail record
This was Cedar Rapids's 2nd recorded hail day, arriving 1 day after the May 16, 2026 storm. By severity it ranks 2nd of the 6 storms we have logged here. Radar put the day's largest stone over Cedar Rapids at 2" — radar-estimated size aloft.
The May 17, 2026 convective day was bigger than Cedar Rapids: the same system put hail over 894 other tracked cities, 185 of them in Nebraska. Nearest: Albion (11 miles east, up to 1.75"); Belgrade (12 miles southeast, up to 4"); Spalding (12 miles northwest, up to 1.25").
These maps are stills from Cedar Rapids's May 17, 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.
Nobody on the ground filed a report over Cedar Rapids for this date, which says more about who was watching than about the storm: spotter reports only exist where there is an observer. The radar surfaces above carry the evidence for this one.
What 2" hail means for Cedar Rapids 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.
$2.5M
Potential roof exposure — 211 homes × the ~$12,000 industry-average hail roof claim. Exposure, not confirmed damage.Track hail over Cedar Rapids on the live map
Radar updates in real time, spotter reports appear on the map as they're filed, and the full Cedar Rapids storm history — this May 17, 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
6 recorded storm days in Cedar Rapids, NE
Other storms in Cedar Rapids
Jun 29, 2026
1.75"
Jun 12, 2026
0.5"
Jun 9, 2026
1.75"
Jun 1, 2026
0.5"
May 16, 2026
1.75"