Gering, NE Hail Storm – May 2025

What Happened

A severe hail storm moved through the Gering, Nebraska area on 2025-05-23 and produced a 2-inch peak hail report, with multiple radar and spotter-verified alerts through the afternoon and night. Field reports from the Scottsbluff and Lake Minatare area documented 1-inch to 1.25-inch hail during the event.

The first hail alert came at 4:43 PM CDT, when 2-inch hail was flagged with radar and spotter verification confidence. Radar then held near the 1.25-inch range at 4:58 PM CDT, before another spotter-verified alert at 5:28 PM CDT showed 1-inch hail in the same general corridor. At 5:47 PM CDT, hail size increased again to 1.75 inches, followed by 1.5-inch alerts at 6:20 PM CDT and 6:51 PM CDT.

Later rounds continued into the evening. The storm renewed with a 1.5-inch alert at 8:58 PM CDT, then returned to 2-inch hail at 9:40 PM CDT. A 1.75-inch alert followed at 10:11 PM CDT, and the final alert at 10:47 PM CDT showed 1-inch hail from dual-polarization radar confidence. The sequence kept the storm active across much of the day and into late evening.

Ground reports fit the radar trend. At 5:26 PM CDT, media relayed a report of quarter-sized hail. At 5:31 PM CDT, an MPING report placed 1-inch hail just northeast of Scottsbluff. At 5:48 PM CDT, a Facebook image showed 1.25-inch hail northeast of Lake Minatare, and that same report was repeated in the field feed. The reports clustered in the Scottsbluff and Lake Minatare corridor, just north and northeast of Gering.

Damage Assessment

The field reports point to localized hail impact north and northeast of Gering, with the most specific ground truth coming from the Scottsbluff and Lake Minatare area. The 1-inch MPING report and the 1.25-inch photographed hail show stones large enough to affect exposed vehicle surfaces, lightweight siding, and soft roof materials.

The repeated 1.25-inch image report northeast of Lake Minatare adds a second independent confirmation from the same general area. Combined with the radar alerts that cycled through 1.5-inch, 1.75-inch, and 2-inch hail, the event showed a narrow but repeated hail core rather than a single brief burst.

No tree fall or structural loss was documented in the reports provided. The available field data instead centers on hail size and location, with the strongest evidence concentrated along the Scottsbluff to Lake Minatare corridor. In practical terms, that points crews toward impact checks on roofs, gutters, vents, siding, and vehicles in the north side of the metro and nearby rural routes.

What Contractors Should Know

This event deserves a close look in neighborhoods north and northeast of Gering, especially toward Scottsbluff and Lake Minatare. The reports place hail in that corridor more than once, and the alert sequence stayed active through the evening. Roofing crews should expect the usual soft-hit pattern on slopes, ridge caps, vents, window trim, and lower roof edges where wind-driven hail tends to leave the clearest marks.