Hail in Polk May 16, 2026
Both radar surfaces caught this storm: NEXRAD logged 7 hail signatures up to 2.25", and the radar-estimated size reached 1.25" aloft. At 2.25" — tennis ball — this is severe, roof-replacing hail: close to every roof inside the footprint becomes a claim candidate.
2.25"
≈ tennis ball · the largest NEXRAD radar signature107
0
none filedThe most severe storm Polk 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
- 56 /100
- Homes exposed
- 41 /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 Polk saw the hail — from two instruments
Each storm gets two readings: the radar signatures NEXRAD recorded as the cells passed overhead, and a modeled estimate of hail size in the air. They are independent surfaces, so a mismatch between them is expected — and worth reading.
The point detections NEXRAD recorded overhead. Each signature marks where the radar saw hail aloft — it is a detection, not a stone measured on the ground.
Radar-estimated hail size over the swath. The model reports the biggest stone the storm could sustain in the air; what actually fell may have been smaller.
Where May 16, 2026 sits in Polk's hail record
This was Polk's 2nd recorded hail day, arriving 32 days after the Apr 14, 2026 storm. By severity it ranks 1st of the 5 storms we have logged here. Radar put the day's largest stone over Polk at 2.25" — the largest NEXRAD radar signature.
The May 16, 2026 convective day was bigger than Polk: the same system put hail over 711 other tracked cities, 201 of them in Nebraska. Nearest: Stromsburg (5 miles east, up to 2.5"); Osceola (9 miles northeast, up to 2.5"); Central City (12 miles northwest, up to 2").
These maps are stills from Polk's May 16, 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 Polk 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 2.25" hail means for Polk 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.
$1.3M
Potential roof exposure — 107 homes × the ~$12,000 industry-average hail roof claim. Exposure, not confirmed damage.Track hail over Polk on the live map
Radar updates in real time, spotter reports appear on the map as they're filed, and the full Polk storm history — this May 16, 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
5 recorded storm days in Polk, NE
Other storms in Polk
Jul 8, 2026
1"
Jun 9, 2026
0.75"
Jun 5, 2026
1.75"
Apr 14, 2026
0.5"