Data current as of 2026-10-16 · Sourced from NOAA Storm Events
Over the past five years, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has recorded 116 hail storms within 25 miles of Grand Island, NE. Of those, 91 produced hail at least quarter-size — the threshold most insurance carriers consider potentially damaging to asphalt shingles. The largest reported hail in this window was baseball-sized or larger, which can fracture shingle mat and dent metal flashing on contact. 2026 was the most active year on record locally, with 42 documented hail events.
Check Hail History for a Specific Address in Grand Island| Severity | Count | What it means for roofs |
|---|---|---|
| Catastrophic | 3 events | Baseball+ size, structural roof damage likely |
| Destructive | 17 events | Egg-size, expect mat fractures and gutter damage |
| Severe | 36 events | Ping pong-size, granule loss and bruising common |
| Significant | 35 events | Quarter-size, the standard insurance damage threshold |
| Moderate | 25 events | Marble-size, possible cosmetic damage |
| Year | Reported Hail Events Within 25 mi |
|---|---|
| 2026 | 42 events |
| 2025 | 12 events |
| 2024 | 14 events |
| 2023 | 7 events |
| 2022 | 41 events |
2026 was the busiest hail year on record locally for Grand Island, with 42 documented events inside the 25-mile radius. Storm activity in Grand Island typically peaks in spring and early summer, when the jet stream pushes Gulf moisture into the area and supercell thunderstorms become more frequent.
| Date | Location | Severity | Size | NOAA Comments |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-09-12 | 1 SE Hastings, NE | Moderate | 0.80" | Report of pea to nickel size hail in SE Hastings from Facebook. Time estimated from radar. |
| 2026-07-08 | 5 WSW Chapman, NE | Significant | 1.00" | — |
| 2026-06-21 | Trumbull, NE | Significant | 1.00" | — |
| 2026-06-21 | 2 NNE Hastings, NE | Significant | 1.00" | Facebook message of a little over quarter size hail in Hastings. |
| 2026-06-21 | 2 ENE Hastings, NE | Severe | 1.50" | — |
| 2026-06-21 | Hastings NWS Office, NE | Severe | 1.50" | — |
| 2026-06-21 | 1 N Hastings, NE | Significant | 1.25" | Report from mPING: Half Dollar (1.25 in.). |
| 2026-06-21 | 2 NNE Hastings, NE | Severe | 1.50" | — |
| 2026-06-21 | Hastings, NE | Significant | 1.25" | Facebook message of nickel to over half dollar size hail. |
| 2026-06-21 | Hastings, NE | Significant | 1.00" | Nickel to Quarter sized hail in central and northeast Hastings. |
| 2026-06-11 | 1 WNW Grand Island, NE | Significant | 1.00" | Source = Facebook video. |
| 2026-06-11 | 1 ESE Doniphan, NE | Significant | 1.00" | — |
| 2026-06-11 | Trumbull, NE | Severe | 1.75" | Report from Facebook, time estimated from Radar. |
| 2026-06-11 | 2 SE Grand Island, NE | Significant | 1.00" | — |
| 2026-06-11 | Phillips, NE | Severe | 1.75" | Report from Facebook of roughly golf ball size hail. Time estimated from Radar. |
| 2026-06-11 | Hastings NWS Office, NE | Severe | 1.75" | Lasted 4-5 minutes. Quarter to a few golf ball size hail stones. |
| 2026-06-11 | 2 SE Grand Island, NE | Significant | 1.00" | Report from mPING: Quarter (1.00 in.). |
| 2026-05-17 | Shelton, NE | Severe | 1.50" | — |
| 2026-05-17 | Shelton, NE | Destructive | 2.00" | — |
| 2026-05-17 | Wood River, NE | Significant | 1.25" | Most hail was dime to penny size but a few were larger than quarters. |
NOAA has recorded 170 high-wind events within 25 miles of Grand Island, NE in the past five years. Of those, 170 reached severe-thunderstorm thresholds (58+ mph). The highest measured gust was 85 mph.
| Severity | Count |
|---|---|
| Severe | 75 events |
| Significant | 95 events |
| Date | Location | Gust (mph) | Severity | NOAA Comments |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-09-19 | 2 N Hastings, NE | 64 | Severe | — |
| 2026-08-19 | Central City, NE | 70 | Severe | Both a trained spotter and a storm chaser reported 60-70 MPH winds and pea sized hail in Central City. |
| 2026-08-18 | 6 SE Cairo, NE | 63 | Significant | — |
| 2026-08-18 | 1 SE Grand Island, NE | 64 | Severe | — |
| 2026-08-18 | 2 WNW Grand Island, NE | 69 | Severe | Ambient Weather Station. |
| 2026-08-18 | Grand Island Airport, NE | 79 | Severe | — |
| 2026-08-18 | 3 SW Grand Island, NE | 59 | Significant | UPR Station. |
| 2026-08-18 | Dannebrog, NE | 68 | Severe | Dannebrog FD reported a wind gust of 68 MPH, causing widespread tree damage in down, including some trees being uprooted. |
| 2026-08-18 | Dannebrog, NE | 58 | Significant | Ambient Weather Station. |
| 2026-08-18 | 2 SW Chapman, NE | 56 | Significant | Corrects previous non-tstm wnd gst report from 2 SW Chapman. Mesonet station UP140 Chapman 1.8SW (UPR). |
| 2026-08-14 | 5 SW Cairo, NE | 51 | Significant | personal weather station. |
| 2026-08-14 | 1 SE Grand Island, NE | 59 | Significant | personal weather station. |
| 2026-07-09 | 1 N Aurora, NE | 68 | Severe | AWOS station KAUH Aurora Airport. |
| 2026-07-09 | 2 WSW Hampton, NE | 60 | Significant | Estimated wind gusts 45-60 MPH and very heavy rain just west of Hampton. |
| 2026-07-09 | Aurora Airport, NE | 74 | Severe | Corrects previous non-tstm wnd gst report from Aurora Airport. |
| 2026-07-03 | 4 NE Grand Island, NE | 52 | Significant | ASOS station KGRI Grand Island Airport. |
| 2026-07-03 | 4 NE Grand Island, NE | 48 | Significant | ASOS station KGRI Grand Island Airport. |
| 2026-07-01 | 7 WSW Cairo, NE | 53 | Significant | — |
| 2026-07-01 | 5 SW Cairo, NE | 54 | Significant | personal weather station. |
| 2026-07-01 | 2 WNW Grand Island, NE | 57 | Significant | Personal weather station report. |
The most recent quarter-size-or-larger hail storm recorded by NOAA within 25 miles of Grand Island was on July 8, 2026. HailCheck refreshes from the NOAA Storm Events database daily, so newer events appear here as they are reported.
Grand Island averages roughly 23 reported hail events per year within a 25-mile radius. Significant storms (quarter-size or larger) account for 91 of the 116 events recorded over the last five years.
The largest documented hail near Grand Island in the last five years was baseball-sized or larger. Most Grand Island-area hail falls in the marble-to-quarter range, with destructive storms (egg-size or larger) appearing roughly once every few years.
Most homeowners insurance policies in NE cover hail damage to roofs, siding, and gutters under the dwelling and other-structures coverage. Coverage typically requires the damage to be tied to a verifiable storm date — which is where the NOAA hail history above (and a HAAG-style test square validation) becomes important for the claim file.
Use the HailCheck address search to enter any street address in or near Grand Island. HailCheck returns every NOAA hail event within a configurable radius, along with severity bands, dates, and storm narratives for Pro members.
If your property in or near Grand Island took on hail during one of the storms above, the standard process for documenting damage is a 10×10 foot test square inspection. A HAAG-trained reviewer counts impact indicators — granule displacement, mat fractures, and bruising — within the marked square and produces a PASS or FAIL document for the claim file.
HailCheck offers a $99 photo-based HAAG-style test square validation. You submit photos from the field, our reviewer evaluates the impact indicators and cross-references the NOAA storm dates listed above, and a written PASS/FAIL determination is returned within one business day. We do not send anyone to the roof — the validation is built around the photos you submit.
Learn About $99 HAAG-Style ValidationGrand Island sits inside the central United States hail belt, where warm Gulf moisture collides with cold continental air to produce supercell thunderstorms capable of dropping the hail documented above. Properties in this zone typically see at least one significant hail event every two to four years.