Hot Springs, SD Hail Storm – August 2025

What Happened

A severe hail storm moved through Hot Springs, SD on August 17, 2025, producing a peak hail size of 1.5 inches and a cluster of verified alerts through the afternoon and evening. The earliest field reports came in at 2:36 PM CDT, when spotters submitted two mPING reports of 1-inch hail.

The first alert in the storm sequence was issued at 2:36 PM CDT with 1.5-inch hail tied to radar and spotter verification. Additional alerts followed at 3:13 PM CDT, 4:47 PM CDT, and 5:37 PM CDT, each carrying a 1-inch hail estimate with radar and spotter confidence. The storm then continued into the evening with a series of dual-polarization radar detections at 7:44 PM CDT, 8:12 PM CDT, 8:50 PM CDT, 9:21 PM CDT, 9:37 PM CDT, and 9:57 PM CDT, all centered on 1-inch hail.

That sequence shows a prolonged hail-producing storm over the Hot Springs metro area rather than a single isolated burst. The verified ground reports matched the first warning period and then the radar detections held the threat in place for several more hours.

Damage Assessment

The field reports point to a concentrated hail impact window around mid-afternoon, with spotters confirming 1-inch hail at 2:36 PM CDT in and near Hot Springs. The repeated radar detections later in the day show that hail remained on the table after the first verified reports, with multiple warning updates carrying 1-inch hail estimates into the evening.

For a storm of this type, the first places to check are roofs, gutters, soft metal trim, window screens, and exposed vehicle surfaces along the path of the verified reports. In Hot Springs, that means looking at the core area first, then extending the inspection to nearby neighborhoods that sat under the later warning periods. The pattern here supports a narrow but repeated hail corridor rather than a single pass.

Photographs, spotter notes, and roof-level observations matter more than generic storm labels. The two 2:36 PM CDT reports give the cleanest ground-truth anchor in this event. Contractors should treat that time stamp as the start of the most credible surface-impact window and work outward from there.

What Contractors Should Know

Hot Springs is not a large metro, but this storm produced multiple rounds of hail confidence across the afternoon and evening. Crews should not assume the first verified hail report ended the event. The warning stream stayed active through 9:57 PM CDT, which means a field route should account for more than one exposure period.

Start with the areas closest to the spotter-verified reports at 2:36 PM CDT. Then check structures and vehicles in the broader warning area that were under later dual-polarization detections. On the ground, that usually means separating the first impact zone from the later hail swath and documenting each property by time window. Keep photos tied to address, roof slope, and any observable spatter on siding, vents, or soft metal.