Omaha, NE Hail Storm – April 2026

A severe hail storm tracked through the Omaha, NE metro on April 23, 2026, producing 4-inch hail and a long sequence of radar-detected and spotter-verified hail cores from late afternoon into the early morning. The event generated 221 NWS alerts across the NWS warning area and numerous ground reports relayed by emergency managers and public observers.

What Happened

The storm developed by late morning and intensified through the late afternoon before producing large hail in the metro by early evening. NWS warnings began at 11:49 AM CDT and continued intermittently across the warning area through the overnight hours. Dual-polarization radar detected repeated hail cores, including multiple radar-detected returns exceeding 2.5 inches in diameter during the late-afternoon to early-evening window. Several radar returns were corroborated by spotter reports and social-media photos relayed via emergency management.

Spotter submissions included multiple mPING reports around 7:15 PM CDT describing grapefruit-sized hail near the metro. Emergency management and social-media submissions around 5:50 PM CDT supplied photos and time estimates from radar that were relayed as field reports. Observers south of the metro described prolonged dime- to tennis-ball-sized hail for roughly 10 minutes around 5:55 PM CDT. Local reports also recorded measured 2-inch hail north of Tecumseh, NE with the time estimated from radar.

The alert record shows a mix of NWS warning-only messages, radar-detected hail swaths from dual-polarization radar, and radar-plus-spotter verifications. That sequence produced clustered large-hail detections from mid-afternoon into the early morning of April 24, with the most intense radar cores and the majority of spotter submissions occurring between late afternoon and early evening.

Damage Assessment

Photos relayed through emergency management and social media document surface impacts in eastern Omaha and in corridors south toward Tecumseh, NE. Field imagery submitted at 5:50 PM CDT shows multiple large stones alongside localized surface scouring and broken vegetation. Multiple spotter reports timestamped around 5:55 PM CDT described prolonged hail accumulation and impacts consistent with sizable hailstones. Separate mPING submissions around 7:15 PM CDT reported very large stones and included size descriptions that match large-radar returns in the same time window.

Local storm reports include measured and estimated observations that align with radar-detected cores. Those reports indicate concentrated impact areas rather than uniform coverage across the entire warning area. Emergency manager photographs and observer notes point to roof and vehicle surface evidence where photos were supplied. Measured 2-inch hail north of Tecumseh, NE was noted by a delayed report that estimated the time using radar; that location also aligns with radar-detected hail signatures in the southern flank of the storm.

Omaha, NE Hail Storm – April 2026

NWS WARNING AREAS · 227

What Happened

Damage Assessment

Storm Details

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