Hail in Red Cloud May 16, 2026
Both radar surfaces caught this storm: NEXRAD logged 0 hail signatures up to 1", and the radar-estimated size reached 0" aloft.
1"
≈ quarter · the largest NEXRAD radar signature0
0
none filedThe 4th most severe storm Red Cloud 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
- 25 /100
- Homes exposed
- 0 /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 Red Cloud 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 Red Cloud's hail record
This was Red Cloud's 2nd recorded hail day, arriving 21 days after the Apr 25, 2026 storm. By severity it ranks 4th of the 5 storms we have logged here. Radar put the day's largest stone over Red Cloud at 1" — the largest NEXRAD radar signature.
The May 16, 2026 convective day was bigger than Red Cloud: the same system put hail over 711 other tracked cities, 201 of them in Nebraska. Nearest: Blue Hill (6 miles northeast, up to 2.5"); Bladen (9 miles northwest, up to 1.75"); Esbon (10 miles south, up to 1").
These maps are stills from Red Cloud'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.
For this storm over Red Cloud, the NWS report log is empty — a common outcome, since ground reports only happen when someone witnesses the hail and takes the time to call it in. The detection record for the date lives in the radar maps above.
What 1" hail means for Red Cloud roofs
Quarter-size and larger hail is where asphalt shingle damage starts in earnest: bruised mats and granule loss that homeowners can't see from the ground. Most people inside the footprint won't know their roof was hit until someone inspects it.
Track hail over Red Cloud on the live map
Radar updates in real time, spotter reports appear on the map as they're filed, and the full Red Cloud 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 Red Cloud, NE
Other storms in Red Cloud
Jul 27, 2026
Jul 8, 2026
1.75"
May 17, 2026
1.75"
Apr 25, 2026
1.5"