Kanab, UT Hail Storm – September 2025

What Happened

A severe hail storm moved through Kanab, Utah, on September 6, 2025, producing 1-inch hail and a radar plus spotter-verified warning at 3:56 PM MDT. The event was concluded by evening.

The storm entered the Kanab area in the late afternoon. NWS alert data showed one severe thunderstorm warning tied to the event, with radar and spotter confidence on the hail threat. A later ground-truth report placed a 0.75-inch hail observation in the same storm sequence at 5:00 PM MDT, based on radar timing.

The strongest field report from the event did not come from hail. It came from flash flooding in Hurricane Wash, where a hiker was carried about 300 feet downstream, climbed a tree to get out of the water, and later needed helicopter evacuation for medical care. Washouts were also reported on Hole-in-the-Rock Road. The report was tied to the same storm system.

The timing matters. The hail threat was already on record by mid-afternoon, and the flood report followed in the early evening. That sequence shows a storm complex that produced both severe hail and runoff impacts across the Kanab area.

Damage Assessment

The surface impacts in this event were not limited to hail marks on vehicles or roofs. Field reports documented flash flooding in Hurricane Wash and washouts along Hole-in-the-Rock Road. The hiker rescue added a clear human impact in the storm corridor east and southeast of Kanab.

The 0.75-inch hail report gives a ground-level check on storm intensity in the same time frame. It confirms hail reached the area during the warning period, even as the more severe consequence of the system shifted to water movement in drainage channels and wash-prone roads.

For property owners, the main concern in this event is not a broad citywide footprint. It is the mix of hail, runoff, and road washouts in a dry landscape that can fail fast when storm cores pass overhead. In and around Kanab, exposed roofs, vehicles, gutters, culverts, and low-water crossings merit close inspection after a storm like this.

Crews working the area should pay attention to informal drainage paths, sandy shoulders, and road cuts near wash corridors. Damage from this event would be expected to concentrate near the storm track and in low-lying routes where debris and water collected first.

What Contractors Should Know

This is a short-duration desert storm with mixed hail and flood impacts. That creates a field job with two tracks. One is hail-related inspection. The other is washout and water-flow assessment. Contractors should not assume the hail report tells the full story. In this case, the flood report in Hurricane Wash is the stronger operational signal.

Start with the roads and drainage points west and southeast of town. Hole-in-the-Rock Road was already reporting washouts, and that means access can change quickly between one site and the next. If you are scheduling roof, gutter, siding, or vehicle inspections, verify route conditions before sending crews into outlying areas.