Hail size 1"
Central City Merrick County
“(GID)”
— NOAA / SPC storm report
Hail in Central City May 17, 2026
Both radar surfaces caught this storm: NEXRAD logged 33 hail signatures up to 4", and the radar-estimated size reached 3" aloft. At 4" — softball or larger — this is severe, roof-replacing hail: close to every roof inside the footprint becomes a claim candidate.
Largest hailstone
4"
≈ softball or larger · the largest NEXRAD radar signature Homes in the hail footprint
406
Ground reports
3
2 hail · 1 windThe most severe storm Central City 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.
8.1 /10
- Hail size
- 100 /100
- Homes exposed
- 52 /100
- Ground truth
- 50 /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 Central City saw the hail — from two instruments
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
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
4"
Detections
33
Radar-estimated hail size
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
3"
Where May 17, 2026 sits in Central City's hail record
This was Central City's 2nd recorded hail day, arriving 1 day after the May 16, 2026 storm. By severity it ranks 1st of the 6 storms we have logged here. Radar put the day's largest stone over Central City at 4" — the largest NEXRAD radar signature.
The May 17, 2026 convective day was bigger than Central City: the same system put hail over 894 other tracked cities, 185 of them in Nebraska. Nearest: Archer (5 miles west, up to 4"); Clarks (8 miles east, up to 3"); Hordville (9 miles southeast, up to 3").
These maps are stills from Central City'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.
Hail reports
2 reports Hail size 1.5"
1 NE Central City Merrick County
“Report from mPING: Ping Pong Ball (1.50 in.). (GID)”
— NOAA / SPC storm report
Wind reports
1 report Wind gust 74 mph
2 W Central City Merrick County
“(GID)”
— NOAA / SPC storm report
Storm forensics
Read from the arrival times and locations of the NOAA ground reports,
not a radar-measured storm track.
How the storm moved
Hail was reported over 19 minutes, from to .
What 4" hail means for Central City 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
$4.9M
Potential roof exposure — 406 homes × the ~$12,000 industry-average hail roof claim. Exposure, not confirmed damage.
Illustrative jobs
2 jobs
Illustrative work
~$30K
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 Central City on the live map
Radar updates in real time, spotter reports appear on the map as they're filed, and the full Central City 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
Central City hail history
← All hail in Central City 6 recorded storm days in Central City, NE
Other storms in Central City
Jul 8, 2026
1.25" Signatures 1.25" Estimated 1"
No ground reports filed 
Jul 1, 2026
Jun 12, 2026
1" Estimated 1"
No ground reports filed 
Jun 5, 2026
1" Signatures 1" Estimated 0.75"
No ground reports filed 
May 16, 2026
2" Signatures 2" Estimated 0.75"
1
ground report
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.