Hail in Columbus · Aug 17, 2026
The estimated-size surface reached 0.5" aloft; NEXRAD logged no point detections over Columbus that day. Open it on the live map to see the swath over the streets.
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Convective day · Aug 17, 2026 · noon–noon UTC
Severity
The 9th most severe storm Columbus has seen in the last 12 months
Overview's storm severity score weighs hailstone size, homes in the footprint, and ground-truth reports.
- Peak hail signal
- 13 /100
- Homes exposed
- 48 /100
- Ground truth
- 0 /100
Largest radar-indicated size — a signal of damage potential, not confirmation.
How many homes sit inside the storm's footprint.
Independent storm reports filed with the NWS.
Evidence / storm surfaces
How Columbus 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.
Estimated size field Maximum hail size as estimated from radar aloft. Treat it as the storm's ceiling — the largest supportable stone — rather than a ground measurement.
Only the radar-estimated size surface resolved for Aug 17, 2026 — this storm produced no NEXRAD point detections over Columbus, so there is one map to show, not two.
The storm in context
Where Aug 17, 2026 sits in Columbus's hail record.
This was Columbus's 14th recorded hail day, arriving 4 days after the Aug 13, 2026 storm. By severity it ranks 9th of the 14 storms we have logged here. Radar put the day's largest stone over Columbus at 0.5" — radar-estimated size aloft.
The Aug 17, 2026 convective day was bigger than Columbus: the same system put hail over 428 other tracked cities, 103 of them in Nebraska. Nearest: Platte Center (7 miles north, up to 0.5"); Genoa (13 miles west, up to 0.75"); Clarks (17 miles southwest, up to 0.5").
These maps are stills. In the app this date is one of 14 Columbus storm dates on a live map — both surfaces, the reports, and a replay — and the same map is where you draw the swath. This page rebuilds nightly.
Ground reports
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 Columbus 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.
Below the severe threshold
What 0.5" hail means for Columbus roofs.
Radar signals under three-quarters of an inch stay below the National Weather Service severe threshold and generally indicate lower roof risk. Older or already-worn materials can still show effects, but radar alone cannot determine whether a specific roof was damaged.
Radar reading · not confirmed damage
Roofing exposure
What this storm is worth to a roofer.
Potential roof exposure
$3.1M
Potential roof exposure — 257 homes × the ~$12,000 industry-average hail roof claim. Exposure, not confirmed damage.
- Illustrative jobs
- 1 job
- Illustrative work
- ~$15K
Close just 0.5% of the 257 homes in this footprint at the average $15,000 roof job. Illustrative math, not a projection — your results depend on your outreach and how the market responds.
Claim window
August 2028
Claims from this storm can typically be filed until around August 2028 — the window to reach these homeowners while it's still open. Deadlines vary by policy and state.
Names and phones for every home in the footprint: at most $54 on top of the $150 plan.
Columbus hail history
Other storms in Columbus.
Estimated-size surface Aug 13, 2026
0.5"
Estimated-size surface Aug 12, 2026
0.75"
Estimated-size surface Aug 8, 2026
1.25"
Estimated-size surface Jul 29, 2026
0.5"
Estimated-size surface Jul 8, 2026
1"
Estimated-size surface Jul 2, 2026
1"
Estimated-size surface Jun 13, 2026
0.75"
Estimated-size surface Jun 1, 2026
1"
NEXRAD surface May 30, 2026
Estimated-size surface May 17, 2026
2"
Estimated-size surface May 16, 2026
3.25"
Estimated-size surface Apr 23, 2026
1"
NEXRAD surface Mar 5, 2026
Take your next area into the field.
See the hail, review your recommendations, and canvass with Overview on iPhone.
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