Conway Springs, KS Hail Storm – July 2025

What Happened

A severe hail storm moved through the Conway Springs, KS area on July 18, 2025, with spotter-verified reports of 1.75-inch hail in the late afternoon. Three NWS alerts tracked the same storm between 4:13 PM CDT and 5:00 PM CDT.

The first alert came at 4:13 PM CDT with radar and spotter-verified 1.75-inch hail. A second alert followed at 4:42 PM CDT with the same hail size and the same confidence level. By 5:00 PM CDT, the warning still carried a 1-inch hail report, also radar and spotter verified. The storm stayed organized through the late-afternoon period as it moved across the area.

Field reports came in shortly after the hail alerts. At 5:16 PM CDT, Yingling Aviation at Eisenhower Airport reported a small FedEx Cessna 208 Caravan tipped over with wing damage from thunderstorm wind gusts. At 5:29 PM CDT, emergency management reported a tree limb blown down on a car near Irma & 45th N in Maize. At 5:30 PM CDT, an NWS employee reported tree damage on Zoo Blvd just east of I-235, with part of a lane blocked by the downed tree. All three reports were spotter verified.

Damage Assessment

The ground reports point to a storm that produced more than hail alone. At Eisenhower Airport, wind gusts were strong enough to tip a small cargo aircraft and damage a wing. Nearby, trees failed in multiple places. One limb came down on a car near Irma & 45th N in Maize. Another tree blocked part of a lane on Zoo Blvd east of I-235.

The reports do not show a broad, continuous damage field across every part of the warning area. They do show focused impacts in and around the Wichita and Maize corridor, with aircraft, trees, and roadway obstruction all reported within minutes of each other. That pattern matches a fast-moving summer storm with strong localized wind and hail cores.

The hail reports themselves stayed near the same size across the warning period. The 4:13 PM CDT and 4:42 PM CDT alerts both carried 1.75-inch hail, then the 5:00 PM CDT alert dropped to 1 inch. The field reports that followed shifted to wind damage and debris, which suggests the storm’s strongest surface impacts were not limited to hail alone.

For contractors, this is the kind of event that can produce scattered but high-value calls. Aircraft damage, tree strikes, and blocked lanes usually mean more than one property type needs inspection. The affected addresses are not all in one subdivision, so route planning should account for a wider service area than the hail reports alone might suggest.

Check roofs, siding, windows, gutters, and soft metals in the path of the hail reports. Then move to tree-adjacent properties, vehicle strikes, and outbuildings near the wind damage locations. The airport report also puts attention on exposed structures and equipment near open fields and flight corridors.

This storm has a concise footprint and a short report window. That usually means the first inspection pass should focus on verified locations first, then expand outward along the storm path for missed soft damage and secondary claims.