April 2025 Storm Activity Digest: Major Hail Across the Midwest

Week in Review

April 2025 produced 15 radar and spotter verified hail events across Arkansas, Iowa, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Texas, and West Virginia. The week opened with 3-inch hail near Cotton Plant, AR, on April 2 and 2.75-inch hail near Gould, AR, the same day. Later in the month, a concentrated hail run covered the central Plains and upper Midwest from April 17 through April 19.

The largest address counts were tied to the April 17 to 18 corridor in Nebraska and Iowa. Crescent, IA, reached 106,113 addresses. Blair, NE, reached 92,115. Louisville, NE, reached 77,370. Arlington, NE, reached 59,754. Additional verified hail events spread into Weeping Water, NE, Oakland, IA, Essex, IA, Underwood, IA, and Imogene, IA.

The month also included a verified 2.75-inch hail event in Ponca City, OK on April 1, 2.75-inch hail in Charleston, WV on April 14, and 2.75-inch hail in Robert Lee, TX on April 19. In total, the month showed a broad hail footprint with multiple high-density target areas for exterior contractors.

Notable Events

Cotton Plant, AR, led the month on hail size. On April 2, radar and spotter data verified 3-inch hail across 7,881 addresses. Gould, AR, also on April 2, logged 2.75-inch hail across 6,702 addresses. These two Arkansas events were early-cycle large hail threats and short-window deployment targets.

Ponca City, OK, on April 1, produced 2.75-inch hail across 19,587 addresses. That event sat at the western edge of the month’s first hail cluster and added an early Oklahoma target area for roof and exterior crews.

The largest concentration of address exposure came on April 17 and 18 across Nebraska and Iowa. Crescent, IA, recorded 2.75-inch hail across 106,113 addresses. Blair, NE, recorded 2.75-inch hail across 92,115 addresses. Arlington, NE, recorded 2.75-inch hail across 59,754 addresses. Louisville, NE, recorded 2.75-inch hail across 77,370 addresses and Weeping Water, NE, added 14,847 addresses.

Iowa had multiple verified hail points on April 18. Oakland, IA, appeared twice in the weekly record, once with 4,277 addresses and once with 2,308 addresses, both at 2.75-inch hail. Essex, IA, recorded 1,565 addresses. Underwood, IA, recorded 7,311 addresses. Imogene, IA, recorded 4,046 addresses. The repeated Oakland entries show multiple verified hail footprints in the same general corridor.

Charleston, WV, on April 14, logged 2.75-inch hail with 0 addresses attached. Even without a populated address count, the report still marks a verified large hail strike in the central Appalachians.

Robert Lee, TX, on April 19, recorded 2.75-inch hail across 909 addresses. It was a smaller footprint than the Midwest events, but it still represents a discrete hail target for localized inspection.

Regional Patterns

The month split into two clear hail clusters. The first cluster sat in Arkansas and Oklahoma during April 1 to 2. The second and larger cluster stretched from Nebraska into Iowa on April 17 to 18, with an additional hail strike in Texas on April 19.

Nebraska carried the heaviest address load. Blair, Louisville, Arlington, and Weeping Water combined for 244,086 addresses tied to verified 2.75-inch hail. That concentration points to a broad corridor of potential roof, vent, soft metal, and siding claims across multiple communities in a short period.

Iowa also showed repeated verified hail coverage. Crescent alone accounted for 106,113 addresses. Oakland, Essex, Underwood, and Imogene added smaller but still actionable footprints. For contractors, that spread suggests a multi-county canvass zone rather than a single-town response.

Arkansas stayed important on size. Cotton Plant’s 3-inch hail was the largest hail size in the weekly record. Gould’s 2.75-inch hail added a second severe point in the same state on the same date. Those events came early in the month and may have set up follow-on inspection demand before the larger Midwest wave.

West Virginia stood apart from the Plains and Midwest pattern. Charleston’s 2.75-inch hail on April 14 was the only verified Appalachian event in the weekly record. It created a separate operational lane for crews working outside the main central corridor.

What Contractors Should Watch

The April 17 to 19 corridor deserves the closest attention. The Nebraska and Iowa events combined large hail size with broad address exposure. Crescent, Blair, Louisville, and Arlington each cleared 50,000 addresses. Those are the kinds of footprints that can support extended canvassing routes, staggered crew deployment, and follow-up inspections after the first round of claims contact.

The Arkansas events deserve early-cycle review. Cotton Plant’s 3-inch hail and Gould’s 2.75-inch hail were both confirmed on April 2. Contractors working Arkansas should treat that date as a separate inspection pocket, especially where roof age, ridge caps, and exposed accessories may have taken direct impacts.

Ponca City, OK, and Robert Lee, TX, were smaller by address count, but both carried 2.75-inch hail. Smaller footprints often move faster through field coverage. Crews assigned to those areas should expect localized damage concentration rather than wide suburban spread.

Charleston, WV, should remain on the watch list even with a zero-address count in the record. Verified large hail in a city center or near dense development can still generate claims in surrounding neighborhoods and adjacent trade zones.

For the coming week, contractors should watch the next atmospheric setup for additional Plains and Midwest hail corridors, especially where strong instability overlaps with organized storm tracks and recurring large hail potential.