Hail size 1"
8 WSW Ladner Harding County
“(UNR)”
— NOAA / SPC storm report
/ Storm field report · Harding
Hail in Buffalo · Aug 11, 2026
Hit 34 days ago
NEXRAD logged 0 hail signatures up to 0"; the estimated-size surface reached 4" aloft. At 4" — softball or larger — this is a severe hail signal associated with roof damage. Open it on the live map to see the swath over the streets.
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Peak hail signal 4" ≈ softball or larger · radar-estimated size aloft
Homes in the hail footprint 1,146
Ground reports 5 3 hail · 2 wind
Radar surfaces 2 NEXRAD + estimated size
Convective day · Aug 11, 2026 · noon–noon UTC
Severity
The most severe storm Buffalo has seen in the last 12 months
Composite score · 8.8 / 10
Storm severity score
Overview's storm severity score weighs hailstone size, homes in the footprint, and ground-truth reports.
8.8 /10
- Peak hail signal
- 100 /100
- Homes exposed
- 61 /100
- Ground truth
- 83 /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 Buffalo saw the hail — from two instruments
Aug 11, 2026 · Buffalo, SD
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
0"
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
4"
The storm in context
Where Aug 11, 2026 sits in Buffalo's hail record.
This was Buffalo's 8th recorded hail day, arriving 26 days after the Jul 16, 2026 storm. By severity it ranks 1st of the 10 storms we have logged here. Radar put the day's largest stone over Buffalo at 4" — radar-estimated size aloft.
The Aug 11, 2026 convective day was bigger than Buffalo: the same system put hail over 1,041 other tracked cities, 44 of them in South Dakota. Nearest: Camp Crook (23 miles west, up to 4"); Capitol (28 miles southwest, up to 2.25"); Ekalaka (33 miles west, up to 4").
These maps are stills. In the app this date is one of 10 Buffalo 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
5 reports 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
3 reports Hail size 1"
1 N Redig Harding County
“(UNR)”
— NOAA / SPC storm report
Hail size 1.75"
Capitol Carter County
“(BYZ)”
— NOAA / SPC storm report
Wind reports
2 reports Wind gust 59 mph
9 ENE Camp Crook Harding County
“(UNR)”
— NOAA / SPC storm report
Wind gust 60 mph
2 S Redig Harding County
“Storm is producing prodigious lightning. (UNR)”
— NOAA / SPC storm report
Storm 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.
The storm tracked southeast at roughly 35 mph, based on the timing of ground reports.
Hail was reported over 73 minutes, from to .
Reports came from Ladner, Redig, Capitol, and Camp Crook — beyond Buffalo itself.
Severe hail signal
What 4" hail means for Buffalo 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.
1,146 homes × $12,000 avg. claim
Potential roof exposure
$14M
Potential roof exposure — 1,146 homes × the ~$12,000 industry-average hail roof claim. Exposure, not confirmed damage.
- Illustrative jobs
- 6 jobs
- Illustrative work
- ~$90K
Close just 0.5% of the 1,146 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
August 2028
Claims from this storm can typically be filed until around August 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 $241 on top of the $150 plan.
Buffalo hail history
Other storms in Buffalo.
10 recorded storm days in Buffalo, SD
Estimated-size surface Storm date Buffalo / SD
Aug 30, 2026
1.25" Estimated 1.25"
10 ground reports Open report →
Estimated-size surface Storm date Buffalo / SD
Aug 17, 2026
1.25" Estimated 1.25"
1 ground report Open report →
Estimated-size surface Storm date Buffalo / SD
Jul 16, 2026
0.75" Estimated 0.75"
No ground reports filed Open report →
Estimated-size surface Storm date Buffalo / SD
Jul 2, 2026
1.75" Signatures 1.75" Estimated 1"
No ground reports filed Open report →
Estimated-size surface Storm date Buffalo / SD
Jun 27, 2026
4" Signatures 4" Estimated 3"
8 ground reports Open report →
Estimated-size surface Storm date Buffalo / SD
Jun 7, 2026
4" Signatures 4" Estimated 3.5"
12 ground reports Open report →
Estimated-size surface Storm date Buffalo / SD
Jun 6, 2026
2.5" Signatures 2.5" Estimated 1.75"
No ground reports filed Open report →
Estimated-size surface Storm date Buffalo / SD
May 30, 2026
1.75" Signatures 1.75" Estimated 1.25"
No ground reports filed Open report →
Estimated-size surface Storm date Buffalo / SD
Apr 13, 2026
2" Signatures 2" Estimated 1.25"
No ground reports filed Open report →
Take your next area into the field.
See the hail, review your recommendations, and canvass with Overview on iPhone.
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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 31, 2026.