Richardton, ND Hail Storm – September 2025

What Happened

A severe hail storm moved through Richardton, North Dakota on September 1, 2025, producing 1.75-inch hail at peak intensity and a second round of 1.5-inch alerts through the evening. The storm was tracked across four NWS alert windows between 5:43 PM CDT and 6:59 PM CDT.

The first alert at 5:43 PM CDT carried 1.75-inch hail confidence from dual-polarization radar. A later alert at 6:12 PM CDT shifted to radar and spotter-verified confidence with 1.5-inch hail. Two more alerts followed at 6:21 PM CDT and 6:59 PM CDT, both holding at 1.5-inch hail.

Field reports from around 7:00 PM CDT described hail beginning around 6 PM MDT and lasting about five minutes, with stones starting small and building to half-dollar size before ending. The report was submitted twice and both entries matched at 1.25 inches by spotter estimate.

The sequence shows a brief but organized hail core moving through the Richardton area during the early evening window. Radar detections and spotter accounts were closely aligned on the storm timing, with the strongest hail signals coming first and the ground reports following shortly after.

Damage Assessment

The field reports point to a short-duration hail strike with enough size to break through the small-stone stage and reach half-dollar hail before ending. That kind of growth in a five-minute window usually leaves a narrow but concentrated hail path rather than broad, wind-driven scatter.

The spotter reports did not describe major structural loss, but they do confirm a direct hail hit in the Richardton area. The stones were large enough to be noticed quickly as they increased in size, and the repeated report timing suggests the same storm cell affected the same area within a short span.

Dual-polarization radar added higher-end hail confidence early in the event, then the warning sequence held near 1.5 inches as the storm continued. The combination of radar and spotter verification supports a localized hail swath across the warning area, with ground truth landing below the radar peak but still within severe range.

For property owners, that means the first inspection should focus on roof surfaces, vents, gutters, soft metals, and vehicles exposed during the 5 to 7 PM CDT window. A brief hail burst can leave impact marks that are easy to miss from the ground, especially when the storm ends quickly and daylight remains.

What Contractors Should Know

Richardton sits in a compact storm corridor where hail events can move fast and leave uneven loss patterns across a small geography. For contractors, that usually means the first canvass pass should begin near the reported hail timing and expand outward in a tight ring rather than treating the whole metro area as evenly affected.

The spotter estimate of 1.25 inches is below the radar peak of 1.75 inches, so roof and accessory damage may vary by street. Expect a mix of direct impact zones and nearby properties that only picked up minor cosmetic marks. Document both. In short-duration hail events like this one, the difference between one block and the next can be meaningful.