Hail in Hill City · Jul 2, 2026
Convective day · Jul 2, 2026 · noon–noon UTC
Severity
The 15th 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
- 0 /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
The maps here read the same storm from two angles — point detections from NEXRAD, and modeled hail size aloft. Where the two disagree is informative: it marks where estimated size outran the signatures, or trailed them.
Radar signature field Where NEXRAD flagged hail as the storm passed — point signatures from the radar, which indicate hail overhead rather than confirm what landed.
Estimated size field The modeled maximum hail size across the swath, derived from radar aloft — the largest stone the storm could have supported, which is not necessarily what reached the ground.
The storm in context
Where Jul 2, 2026 sits in Hill City's hail record.
This was Hill City's 7th recorded hail day, arriving 6 days after the Jun 26, 2026 storm. By severity it ranks 15th 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 Jul 2, 2026 convective day was bigger than Hill City: the same system put hail over 1,147 other tracked cities, 153 of them in South Dakota. Nearest: Rapid City (12 miles northeast, up to 1.75"); Piedmont (26 miles northeast, up to 1"); Sturgis (31 miles northeast, up to 4").
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.
Nobody on the ground filed a report over Hill City for this date, which says more about who was watching than about the storm: spotter reports only exist where there is an observer. The radar surfaces above carry the evidence for this one.
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
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 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"
Estimated-size surface May 3, 2026
0.5"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.
Web trial: 7 days free. Card required. $150/month after the trial unless cancelled.