Hail size 1.25"
Ralph Harding County
“Hail turned the ground white (UNR)”
— NOAA / SPC storm report
/ Storm field report · Harding
Hail in Ralph · Aug 17, 2026
Hit 26 days ago
NEXRAD logged 0 hail signatures up to 0"; the estimated-size surface reached 2" aloft. At 2" — tennis ball — 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 2" ≈ tennis ball · radar-estimated size aloft
Homes in the hail footprint 139
Ground reports 1 1 hail
Radar surfaces 2 NEXRAD + estimated size
Convective day · Aug 17, 2026 · noon–noon UTC
Severity
The 4th most severe storm Ralph has seen in the last 12 months
Composite score · 4.3 / 10
Storm severity score
Overview's storm severity score weighs hailstone size, homes in the footprint, and ground-truth reports.
4.3 /10
- Peak hail signal
- 50 /100
- Homes exposed
- 43 /100
- Ground truth
- 17 /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 Ralph saw the hail — from two instruments
Aug 17, 2026 · Ralph, 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
2"
The storm in context
Where Aug 17, 2026 sits in Ralph's hail record.
This was Ralph's 4th recorded hail day, arriving 7 days after the Aug 10, 2026 storm. By severity it ranks 4th of the 5 storms we have logged here. Radar put the day's largest stone over Ralph at 2" — radar-estimated size aloft.
The Aug 17, 2026 convective day was bigger than Ralph: the same system put hail over 428 other tracked cities, 29 of them in South Dakota. Nearest: Ludlow (10 miles west, up to 2"); Lodgepole (12 miles southeast, up to 1.5"); Scranton (18 miles north, up to 0.5").
These maps are stills. In the app this date is one of 5 Ralph 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 reportSevere hail signal
What 2" hail means for Ralph 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.
139 homes × $12,000 avg. claim
Potential roof exposure
$1.7M
Potential roof exposure — 139 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 139 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 $29 on top of the $150 plan.
Estimated-size surface Storm date Ralph / SD
Aug 23, 2026
2.5" Estimated 2.5"
3 ground reports Open report →
Estimated-size surface Storm date Ralph / SD
Aug 10, 2026
3" Estimated 3"
1 ground report Open report →
Estimated-size surface Storm date Ralph / SD
Jun 27, 2026
4" Signatures 4" Estimated 3"
No ground reports filed Open report →
Estimated-size surface Storm date Ralph / SD
May 21, 2026
0.5" Estimated 0.5"
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 24, 2026.