Hail size 1"
Valley Douglas County
“Delayed social media report. (OAX)”
— NOAA / SPC storm report
/ Storm field report · Douglas
Hail in Waterloo · May 15, 2026
NEXRAD logged 0 hail signatures up to 1.75"; the estimated-size surface reached 0.75" aloft. Open it on the live map to see the swath over the streets.
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Peak hail signal 1.75" ≈ golf ball · the largest NEXRAD radar signature
Homes in the hail footprint 2,151
Ground reports 1 1 hail
Radar surfaces 2 NEXRAD + estimated size
Convective day · May 15, 2026 · noon–noon UTC
Severity
The 2nd most severe storm Waterloo has seen in the last 12 months
Composite score · 4.5 / 10
Storm severity score
Overview's storm severity score weighs hailstone size, homes in the footprint, and ground-truth reports.
4.5 /10
- Peak hail signal
- 44 /100
- Homes exposed
- 67 /100
- Ground truth
- 17 /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 Waterloo saw the hail — from two instruments
May 15, 2026 · Waterloo, NE
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.
NEXRAD radar signatures Surface resolved
Radar signature field 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.
Max size
1.75"
Detections
0
Radar-estimated hail size Surface resolved
Estimated size field 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.
Max size
0.75"
The storm in context
Where May 15, 2026 sits in Waterloo's hail record.
This was Waterloo's 2nd recorded hail day, arriving 22 days after the Apr 23, 2026 storm. By severity it ranks 2nd of the 5 storms we have logged here. Radar put the day's largest stone over Waterloo at 1.75" — the largest NEXRAD radar signature.
The May 15, 2026 convective day was bigger than Waterloo: the same system put hail over 444 other tracked cities, 31 of them in Nebraska. Nearest: Elkhorn (4 miles southeast, up to 1"); Valley (5 miles west, up to 1.75"); Omaha (10 miles southeast, up to 1").
These maps are stills. In the app this date is one of 5 Waterloo 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.
Hail 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 Valley — beyond Waterloo itself.
High damage potential
What 1.75" hail means for Waterloo roofs.
Hail around an inch and a half is capable of cracking shingles, stripping granules, and denting gutters, vents, and siding. Risk is usually greatest near the strongest radar signal, but property-level damage still requires an on-site inspection.
Radar reading · not confirmed damage
Roofing exposure
What this storm is worth to a roofer.
2,151 homes × $12,000 avg. claim
Potential roof exposure
$26M
Potential roof exposure — 2,151 homes × the ~$12,000 industry-average hail roof claim. Exposure, not confirmed damage.
- Illustrative jobs
- 11 jobs
- Illustrative work
- ~$165K
Close just 0.5% of the 2,151 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
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 $452 on top of the $150 plan.
Waterloo hail history
Other storms in Waterloo.
5 recorded storm days in Waterloo, NE
Estimated-size surface Storm date Waterloo / NE
Jul 8, 2026
1" Signatures 1" Estimated 0.75"
No ground reports filed Open report →
Estimated-size surface Storm date Waterloo / NE
Jul 3, 2026
1" Signatures 1" Estimated 0.5"
No ground reports filed Open report →
Estimated-size surface Storm date Waterloo / NE
Jun 13, 2026
1.5" Estimated 1.5"
2 ground reports Open report →
Estimated-size surface Storm date Waterloo / NE
Apr 23, 2026
1.75" Signatures 1.75" Estimated 0.75"
1 ground report Open report →
The next storm won’t wait for you.
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 Aug 3, 2026.