Hampton, NE Hail Storm – May 2026

A severe hail-producing storm moved through Hampton, NE on May 16, 2026, producing stones up to 3.3 inches and a prolonged series of radar- and spotter-verified large-hail reports in the early evening.

What Happened

The event began in the late afternoon and continued into the overnight hours, generating 73 consecutive NWS alerts across the warning area. Dual-polarization radar detected recurring large-hail cores through the early evening. NWS warnings accompanied the radar detections for much of the storm track.

Field observers reported a concentrated cluster of large stones in a corridor north of Agenda. A trained spotter near Agenda reported 2.5 to 3.0-inch hail around 7:53 PM CDT. Multiple mPING submissions around 8:27 PM CDT described egg-plus sized stones near Hen Egg, each measuring about 2.25 inches. Emergency management transmitted a NWSChat report at 8:55 PM CDT documenting 2.75-inch stones and sent imagery shortly after. Earlier in the sequence, public reports and a trained spotter logged golf-ball-size hail during the late afternoon.

Radar continued to show repeated hail signatures into the later evening, and several spotters reported accumulations and measurable stones on the ground. The storm produced a series of smaller NWS warning-only alerts later in the night as the system weakened and scattered.

Damage Assessment

Surface observations show concentrated large-stone impacts on the ground north of Agenda and in adjacent rural sections within the NWS warning area. Multiple spotters measured stones in the 2 to 2.75-inch range; images and public reports documented widespread hail layering on yards and road shoulders at 8:15 PM CDT and again near 8:52–8:55 PM CDT. No large-scale structural collapse or widespread catastrophic failures are in the field reports. The highest-volume ground reports came from emergency management and trained spotters rather than general social media posts.

Radar-detected large-hail cores align with the locations where spotters measured egg-sized and larger stones. Those radar returns persisted across several scans during the early evening, indicating repeated hail access to the surface along a narrow track. Reports of 2-inch accumulations and imagery of heavy cover on lawns indicate enough concentration to abrade exterior finishes and dent vehicles in the immediate track.

Reported impacts are localized to roadways, yards, and open farm fields in the corridor north of Agenda and in parts of the Hampton metro warning area. The later sequence of smaller NWS warning-only alerts corresponds to the storm's decay and scatter, with field reports shifting to dime- to quarter-sized stones as the system exited the warning area.

What Contractors Should Know

Inspect north-of-Agenda properties first. Trained spotter measurements and emergency management reports place the strongest hail corridor in that sector. Prioritize roofing, vehicle, and exposed equipment inspections on parcels that lie inside the NWS warning area and adjacent county roads observed in the spotter messages. Look for clustered impact patterns consistent with repeated large-stone strikes rather than uniform wear across a whole neighborhood.

Hampton, NE Hail Storm – May 2026

NWS WARNING AREAS · 73

What Happened

Damage Assessment

What Contractors Should Know

Storm Details

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