/ Storm field report · Union

Hail in Alcester · Oct 8, 2026

Hit 14 days ago

The estimated-size surface reached 1.5" aloft; NEXRAD logged no point detections over Alcester that day. Open it on the live map to see the swath over the streets.

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Peak hail signal 1.5" ≈ ping-pong ball · radar-estimated size aloft

Homes in the hail footprint 2,946

Ground reports 1 1 hail

Radar surfaces 1 Estimated size only

Convective day · Oct 8, 2026 · noon–noon UTC

Severity

The 4th most severe storm Alcester has seen in the last 12 months

Composite score · 4.2 / 10

Storm severity score

Overview's storm severity score weighs hailstone size, homes in the footprint, and ground-truth reports.

4.2 /10

Peak hail signal: 38 /100
Homes exposed: 69 /100
Ground truth: 17 /100

Evidence / storm surfaces

How Alcester saw the hail — from two instruments

Oct 8, 2026 · Alcester, SD

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.

Radar-estimated hail size Surface resolved

Map image is still rendering for this surface.

Maximum hail size as estimated from radar aloft. Treat it as the storm's ceiling — the largest supportable stone — rather than a ground measurement.

Max size 1.5"

Only the radar-estimated size surface resolved for Oct 8, 2026 — this storm produced no NEXRAD point detections over Alcester, so there is one map to show, not two.

The storm in context

Where Oct 8, 2026 sits in Alcester's hail record.

This was Alcester's 10th recorded hail day, arriving 27 days after the Sep 11, 2026 storm. By severity it ranks 4th of the 10 storms we have logged here. Radar put the day's largest stone over Alcester at 1.5" — radar-estimated size aloft.

The Oct 8, 2026 convective day was bigger than Alcester: the same system put hail over 86 other tracked cities, 9 of them in South Dakota. Nearest: Beresford (8 miles northwest, up to 1.75"); Akron (8 miles southeast, up to 1"); Hawarden (11 miles east, up to 1.5").

These maps are stills. In the app this date is one of 10 Alcester 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 report

Hail size 1.5"

Alcester Union County

5:32 AM UTC

“Photos posted to social media. Time estimated based on radar. (FSD)”
— NOAA / SPC storm report

High damage potential

What 1.5" hail means for Alcester 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.

2,946 homes × $12,000 avg. claim

Potential roof exposure

$35M

Potential roof exposure — 2,946 homes × the ~$12,000 industry-average hail roof claim. Exposure, not confirmed damage.

Illustrative jobs: 15 jobs
Illustrative work: ~$225K

Close just 0.5% of the 2,946 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

October 2028

Claims from this storm can typically be filed until around October 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 $619 on top of the $150 plan.

Alcester hail history

10 recorded storm days in Alcester, SD

← All hail in Alcester

Radar-estimated hail-size map of the storm over Alcester, SD on Sep 11, 2026

Estimated-size surface

Storm date Alcester / SD

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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 Oct 9, 2026.

The 4th most severe storm Alcester has seen in the last 12 months

How Alcester saw the hail — from two instruments

Where Oct 8, 2026 sits in Alcester's hail record.

What people on the ground reported

Hail reports

What 1.5" hail means for Alcester roofs.

What this storm is worth to a roofer.

Other storms in Alcester.

Sep 11, 2026

Sep 1, 2026

Aug 3, 2026

Jul 25, 2026

Jul 2, 2026

Jun 30, 2026

Jun 29, 2026

May 31, 2026

May 17, 2026

The next storm won’t wait for you.