Tornado Rating unknown
4 SSW Barada Richardson County
“Multi-vortex tornado reported north of Falls City. (OAX)”
— NOAA / SPC storm report
/ Storm field report · Richardson
Hail in Falls City · May 18, 2026
NEXRAD logged 4 hail signatures up to 2.25"; the estimated-size surface reached 1.75" aloft. At 2.25" — tennis ball — this is a severe hail signal associated with roof damage. Open it on the live map to see the swath over the streets.
A tornado was also reported to the National Weather Service during this storm. The ground reports below show where it was filed.
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Peak hail signal 2.25" ≈ tennis ball · the largest NEXRAD radar signature
Homes in the hail footprint 58
Ground reports 1 1 tornado
Radar surfaces 2 NEXRAD + estimated size
Convective day · May 18, 2026 · noon–noon UTC
Severity
The most severe storm Falls City has seen in the last 12 months
Composite score · 4.8 / 10
Storm severity score
Overview's storm severity score weighs hailstone size, homes in the footprint, and ground-truth reports.
4.8 /10
- Peak hail signal
- 56 /100
- Homes exposed
- 35 /100
- Ground truth
- 33 /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 Falls City saw the hail — from two instruments
May 18, 2026 · Falls City, NE
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.
NEXRAD radar signatures Surface resolved
Radar signature field Where NEXRAD flagged hail as the storm passed — point signatures from the radar, which indicate hail overhead rather than confirm what landed.
Max size
2.25"
Detections
4
Radar-estimated hail size Surface resolved
Estimated size field 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.
Max size
1.75"
The storm in context
Where May 18, 2026 sits in Falls City's hail record.
This was Falls City's 5th recorded hail day, arriving 2 days after the May 16, 2026 storm. By severity it ranks 1st of the 9 storms we have logged here. Radar put the day's largest stone over Falls City at 2.25" — the largest NEXRAD radar signature.
The May 18, 2026 convective day was bigger than Falls City: the same system put hail over 726 other tracked cities, 121 of them in Nebraska. Nearest: Hiawatha (9 miles southwest, up to 0.75"); Craig (9 miles northeast, up to 0.75"); Salem (11 miles west, up to 1.75").
These maps are stills. In the app this date is one of 9 Falls City 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
1 report filed with the NWS
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.
Tornado reports
1 reportStorm forensics
How the storm moved
Timing and place names from NOAA ground reports
Read from the arrival times and locations of the NOAA ground reports, not a radar-measured storm track.
Reports came from Barada — beyond Falls City itself.
Severe hail signal
What 2.25" hail means for Falls City roofs.
Two-inch-plus hail is capable of puncturing shingles, breaking skylights or windows, and heavily denting soft materials. The strongest radar bands warrant prompt inspection, but neither the signal nor the footprint confirms damage at a specific address.
Radar reading · not confirmed damage
Roofing exposure
What this storm is worth to a roofer.
58 homes × $12,000 avg. claim
Potential roof exposure
$696K
Potential roof exposure — 58 homes × the ~$12,000 industry-average hail roof claim. Exposure, not confirmed damage.
Claim window
May 2028
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.
Names and phones for every home in the footprint: at most $12 on top of the $150 plan.
Falls City hail history
Other storms in Falls City.
9 recorded storm days in Falls City, NE
Estimated-size surface Storm date Falls City / NE
Sep 13, 2026
0.5" Estimated 0.5"
No ground reports filed Open report →
Estimated-size surface Storm date Falls City / NE
Aug 19, 2026
0.75" Estimated 0.75"
No ground reports filed Open report →
Estimated-size surface Storm date Falls City / NE
Aug 9, 2026
1.25" Estimated 1.25"
No ground reports filed Open report →
Estimated-size surface Storm date Falls City / NE
Jul 3, 2026
1" Signatures 1" Estimated 1"
1 ground report Open report →
Estimated-size surface Storm date Falls City / NE
May 16, 2026
No ground reports filed Open report →
Estimated-size surface Storm date Falls City / NE
Apr 26, 2026
1" Signatures 1" Estimated 0.5"
No ground reports filed Open report →
Estimated-size surface Storm date Falls City / NE
Apr 23, 2026
1.25" Signatures 1.25" Estimated 0.75"
1 ground report Open report →
Estimated-size surface Storm date Falls City / NE
Mar 5, 2026
1.75" Signatures 1.75" Estimated 0.75"
No ground reports filed Open report →
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Set your territory and alerts today. When hail hits, use Overview to choose your streets and get moving.
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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 tells you where to look. Only an inspection confirms damage at an address. Last updated Sep 14, 2026.