Hail in Hill City · May 3, 2026
The estimated-size surface reached 0.5" aloft; NEXRAD logged no point detections over Hill City that day. Open it on the live map to see the swath over the streets.
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Convective day · May 3, 2026 · noon–noon UTC
Severity
The 12th most severe storm Hill City has seen in the last 12 months
Overview's storm severity score weighs hailstone size, homes in the footprint, and ground-truth reports.
- Peak hail signal
- 13 /100
- Homes exposed
- 44 /100
- Ground truth
- 0 /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 Hill City 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.
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.
Only the radar-estimated size surface resolved for May 3, 2026 — this storm produced no NEXRAD point detections over Hill City, so there is one map to show, not two.
The storm in context
Where May 3, 2026 sits in Hill City's hail record.
This was Hill City's 1st recorded hail day — the first hail day in our records for the city. By severity it ranks 12th of the 15 storms we have logged here. Radar put the day's largest stone over Hill City at 0.5" — radar-estimated size aloft.
The May 3, 2026 convective day was bigger than Hill City: the same system put hail over 115 other tracked cities, 2 of them in South Dakota. Nearest: Deadwood (9 miles northeast, up to 0.5"); Rapid City (12 miles northeast, up to 0.5"); Novinger (619 miles southeast, up to 0").
These maps are stills. In the app this date is one of 15 Hill City 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
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.
The National Weather Service logged no spotter reports for this storm over Hill City. That absence is ordinary — filing a report takes a person on the spot who saw the hail and phoned it in. What stands as the record for this date is the radar above, which caught the storm regardless.
Below the severe threshold
What 0.5" hail means for Hill City roofs.
Radar signals under three-quarters of an inch stay below the National Weather Service severe threshold and generally indicate lower roof risk. Older or already-worn materials can still show effects, but radar alone cannot determine whether a specific roof was damaged.
Radar reading · not confirmed damage
Roofing exposure
What this storm is worth to a roofer.
Potential roof exposure
$1.9M
Potential roof exposure — 161 homes × the ~$12,000 industry-average hail roof claim. Exposure, not confirmed damage.
- Illustrative jobs
- 1 job
- Illustrative work
- ~$15K
Close just 0.5% of the 161 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 $34 on top of the $150 plan.
Hill City hail history
Other storms in Hill City.
Estimated-size surface Aug 27, 2026
1.25"
Estimated-size surface Aug 11, 2026
1.75"
Estimated-size surface Aug 10, 2026
2"
Estimated-size surface Jul 31, 2026
1"
Estimated-size surface Jul 10, 2026
0.75"
Estimated-size surface Jul 9, 2026
1"
Estimated-size surface Jul 8, 2026
1.25"
Estimated-size surface Jul 3, 2026
3"
Estimated-size surface Jul 2, 2026
0.5"
Estimated-size surface Jun 26, 2026
1.75"
Estimated-size surface Jun 21, 2026
0.5"
Estimated-size surface Jun 6, 2026
1"
Estimated-size surface Jun 4, 2026
2"
Estimated-size surface May 30, 2026
1.75"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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Web trial: 7 days free. Card required. $150/month after the trial unless cancelled.