Cedar Point, KS Hail Storm – April 2026

What Happened

A hailstorm moved through Cedar Point, KS, on April 13, 2026, with 3-inch stones in the event record and repeated radar and spotter reports through the afternoon and evening. The storm began with 1-inch hail at 4:08 PM CDT, then expanded quickly as larger stones were reported and detected over the next several hours.

By 4:55 PM CDT, spotters had already reported 1.75-inch hail. At 5:07 PM CDT, dual-polarization radar showed the same hail size. A 5:32 PM CDT field report from Emporia City Manager noted quarter to half dollar size hail, which aligns with the broader hail growth seen in the warning area.

The core of the storm strengthened after 6 PM CDT. At 6:05 PM CDT, multiple mPING reports described hen egg hail at 2.00 inches. Minutes later, radar detected 1.5-inch hail at 6:23 PM CDT and 2-inch hail at 6:26 PM CDT. By 6:51 PM CDT, dual-polarization radar was detecting 2.5-inch hail. Spotter reports around this period also described 2-inch stones on the ground behind the storm.

The hail signal remained active into the evening. Additional radar detections ranged from 1.75 inches at 7:00 PM CDT to 1.25 inches at 7:08 PM CDT and 1.75 inches again at 7:24 PM CDT. A 7:30 PM CDT spotter report described 2-inch hail across the street from Ottawa High School. Later reports still found hail on the ground behind the storm, showing the storm had left a visible hail field behind its path.

After 9:30 PM CDT, the storm weakened but did not end abruptly. NWS warning-only alerts continued through 11:12 PM CDT, with sizes from 0.75 inch to 1 inch and one 0-inch alert. The final radar-derived hail size in the record reached 1.5 inches at 10:24 PM CDT.

Damage Assessment

Field reports point to a storm that produced widespread roof and vehicle risk across the Cedar Point area and nearby reporting points, but the strongest ground truth came from repeated spotter descriptions of 2-inch hail and hail remaining on the ground after the core passed. Those reports were concentrated in the late afternoon and early evening, when the hail signal was strongest on radar.

The 5:00 PM CDT reports from 6 N Matfield Green included corrected hail observations relayed through social media, KSN-TV, and law enforcement, all listing 1.75-inch hail. That kind of repetition usually means the hail was not isolated to a single observer. The 6:05 PM CDT mPING reports of hen egg hail add another verified hail point in the same window.

The 7:10 PM CDT report stating hail was observed on the ground behind the storm indicates the hail reached the surface and persisted after the main cell passed. The 7:30 PM CDT report of 2-inch hail across the street from Ottawa High School adds another location-specific impact point later in the event. The 5:32 PM CDT report from Emporia City Manager, describing quarter to half dollar size hail, shows the storm was already producing damaging hail before the larger stones arrived.