Granville, ND Hail Storm – September 2025

What Happened

A severe hail storm moved through Granville, North Dakota on 2025-09-12 and produced a peak confirmed hail size of 2.5 inches. The storm continued through the night and into the morning, with repeated hail reports and radar-based alerts across the same general path.

The first major report came at 9:27 PM CDT, when broadcast media relayed a photo of 2-inch hail near Granville. Minutes later, at 9:41 PM CDT, a public report described hail around 2 inches in diameter while it was still falling. An NWS alert at the same time carried 1.5-inch hail with radar and spotter verification. By 10:18 PM CDT, dual-polarization radar had already flagged 1-inch hail. Two minutes later, radar and spotter verification supported a 2-inch hail alert.

The storm remained active through the overnight hours. Alerts at 11:01 PM CDT and 11:46 PM CDT carried 1.25-inch and 1.75-inch hail. After midnight, the pattern continued with several radar and spotter-verified hail notifications between 12:00 AM and 2:34 AM CDT. The largest alert came at 12:46 AM CDT, when hail reached 2.5 inches. Later alerts still showed repeated hail signatures, including 2-inch hail at 1:17 AM CDT and 1.5-inch to 1.75-inch hail through 3:27 AM CDT. Dual-polarization radar also detected smaller hail signatures again at 5:40 AM CDT, 6:07 AM CDT, and 8:41 AM CDT.

Field reports matched the radar sequence. A report from Rugby 3W at 1:30 AM CDT listed a 24-hour rain total of 3.46 inches. Bantry 3SW reported 2.27 inches at the same time. A 2:40 AM CDT report described hail for 4 to 5 minutes with the ground completely covered and stones larger than a quarter. Another report at 1:35 AM CDT described nickel to quarter-size hail with one stone at least half-dollar size. At 3:10 AM CDT, observers relayed a handful of quarter-size hail with one stone near 1.25 to 1.5 inches.

Damage Assessment

The surface impact was concentrated in a corridor where hail fell long enough to cover the ground and produce repeated spotter reports of larger stones mixed with smaller ones. The reports do not show a single isolated burst. They show a storm that kept producing hail through much of the night, with the heaviest stones near the Granville area early in the event and additional hail reports farther into the overnight track.

Rainfall was also notable. Rugby 3W recorded 3.46 inches in 24 hours, and Bantry 3SW recorded 2.27 inches. Those totals point to a storm with more than hail in the mix. The same event also produced a report of broken tree branches at 6:00 AM CDT. No widespread structural damage reports were included in the field data provided here, but the combination of hail, heavy rain, and branch damage indicates a strong surface impact along the storm path.

The hail reports varied from quarter-size stones to isolated larger stones near 1.25 to 1.5 inches, with the highest verified hail size reaching 2.5 inches. A public photo and an in-person report both placed 2-inch hail near Granville early in the event. Later reports of ground coverage and mixed hail sizes suggest multiple cells or repeated hail cores moving through the same area.