Hail in Lake City · May 26, 2026
Convective day · May 26, 2026 · noon–noon UTC
Severity
The 5th most severe storm Lake 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 Lake 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 May 26, 2026 sits in Lake City's hail record.
This was Lake City's 1st recorded hail day — the first hail day in our records for the city. By severity it ranks 5th of the 5 storms we have logged here. Radar put the day's largest stone over Lake City at 0.5" — radar-estimated size aloft.
The May 26, 2026 convective day was bigger than Lake City: the same system put hail over 259 other tracked cities, 5 of them in South Dakota. Nearest: Sisseton (22 miles east, up to 0"); Waubay (30 miles southeast, up to 1"); Webster (35 miles south, up to 0").
These maps are stills. In the app this date is one of 5 Lake 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 Lake 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 Lake 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
Lake City hail history
Other storms in Lake City.
Estimated-size surface Jul 19, 2026
0.5"
Estimated-size surface Jul 7, 2026
1.75"
Estimated-size surface Jun 29, 2026
2"
Estimated-size surface Jun 3, 2026
1"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.