Albion, NE Hail Storm – May 2025

What Happened

A severe hail storm moved across Albion, Nebraska on May 19, 2025, producing a confirmed peak hail size of 2 inches as it crossed the metro area through the afternoon and early evening. The warning area carried 37 hail alerts from 2:18 PM CDT to 7:59 PM CDT.

Early detections at 2:18 PM CDT and 2:20 PM CDT showed 1-inch to 1.5-inch hail with dual-polarization radar and spotter verification. By 2:46 PM CDT, 2:50 PM CDT, and 2:56 PM CDT, alerts had climbed to 1.75 inches. The sequence held near that range through much of the afternoon, with additional 1.75-inch alerts at 3:24 PM CDT, 3:28 PM CDT, 3:58 PM CDT, 4:14 PM CDT, 4:22 PM CDT, 4:42 PM CDT, and 4:56 PM CDT.

Spotter reports matched the radar trend. At 2:55 PM CDT, a spotter reported golf ball size hail in Central City. At 4:02 PM CDT, another report placed golf ball size hail northwest of Stromsburg. Around 4:06 PM CDT and 4:07 PM CDT, reports from south of Fairfield and in Edgar described half-dollar sized hail and ping pong ball sized hail. A media report at 4:08 PM CDT described hail up to baseball size in Edgar, and a photo on social media at the same time showed 2-inch diameter hail.

The strongest verified radar alert came at 4:15 PM CDT, when hail reached 2 inches. Another 2-inch alert followed at 5:24 PM CDT, with a second at 5:30 PM CDT. Later alerts stayed active into the evening, including 1.5-inch hail at 6:44 PM CDT and 1-inch hail as late as 7:59 PM CDT.

Damage Assessment

Field reports point to a storm with a broad hail footprint and scattered larger stones near Edgar, Fairfield, Central City, and Stromsburg. The 4:08 PM CDT report from Edgar described baseball-sized hail. A separate 4:08 PM CDT photo also showed 2-inch hail. Delayed reports relayed through emergency management at 5:09 PM CDT repeated the baseball-sized hail estimate.

The report set includes multiple 1.75-inch observations and several 1.5-inch reports from the same afternoon. That pattern places repeated large hail across the warning area, not a single isolated burst. The verified hail sizes ranged from ping pong ball and half-dollar reports to golf ball and baseball estimates, with the largest ground-truth report topping out at 2.75 inches.

For roofs, gutters, and exterior finishes, the likely concern is concentrated impact in the eastern Nebraska towns named in the reports. Edgar appears in both the media and photo-based reports. Fairfield and Central City appear in spotter and emergency management reports. Stromsburg appears in a spotter report northwest of town. Contractors working this storm should expect uneven damage from block to block, with some properties showing only surface bruising and others showing direct impact from larger stones.

What Contractors Should Know

Start with the towns named in the field reports. Edgar, Fairfield, Central City, and the Stromsburg area carried the clearest large-hail confirmation. The early and mid-afternoon alerts show a long-lived hail corridor, so roof inspection routes should cover more than one pass through the same zone.