Lyman, NE Hail Storm – June 2025

What Happened

A severe hail storm moved through the Lyman, NE area on June 22, 2025, producing 3-inch hail during the late afternoon and early evening. The storm evolved through a series of NWS alert areas that tracked a steady increase in hail size before easing back later in the evening.

The first alert came at 4:47 PM CDT with 1-inch hail detected by dual-polarization radar. By 5:13 PM CDT, radar confidence supported 1.25-inch hail. At 5:15 PM CDT, the storm reached 1.75-inch hail with radar and spotter verification. The peak alert followed at 5:59 PM CDT with 3-inch hail, again backed by radar and spotter confirmation. Another verified alert at 6:43 PM CDT showed 2-inch hail, and a final radar-derived alert at 9:42 PM CDT returned to 1-inch hail.

A ground report at 6:30 PM CDT described a wind-driven hail event with widespread damage across the Bridgeport area. The report noted broken windows, stripped crops, and large trees and power poles downed. The report listed 0.75-inch hail and came from spotter-verified ground truth.

The storm did not stay uniform. The radar sequence showed a strong core during the peak period, then smaller hail later in the evening as the system weakened or shifted. The verified field report placed the surface impact in the Bridgeport area during the same window as the peak hail alerts.

Damage Assessment

The field report points to a hard-hit corridor with both hail and wind working at the same time. Broken windows, stripped crops, and downed large trees and power poles suggest the storm crossed more than open field. It reached structures, utility lines, and tree cover in the Bridgeport area.

The timing matters. The 6:30 PM CDT ground report landed minutes after the 5:59 PM CDT 3-inch alert and during the stretch of highest radar confidence. That places the most severe surface impact in the same late-afternoon window when the storm produced its largest verified hail.

The reported 0.75-inch hail in the field report does not capture the full event. It sits alongside the larger radar-verified hail alerts and the visible damage. That mix points to a storm with strong variation across the track, where some spots saw larger stones and others took more wind and smaller hail.

Crop loss was part of the event. The report of stripped crops indicates direct impact in agricultural ground near the storm path. Large trees and power poles downed points to a narrow but intense swath of damaging wind and hail across the affected area.

For contractors, the first calls should center on glass, roofing edges, siding, gutters, tree impact, and utility-related damage. Broken windows and power poles in the same report raise the odds of secondary damage from debris and line contact. Crews should also expect isolated loss patterns in crop fields outside the main structural footprint.