Howells, NE Hail Storm – May 2026

A late-afternoon hail storm tracked through Howells, NE on May 18, 2026, producing 1.75-inch stones and prompting a sequence of NWS warnings and radar detections. The event ran from mid-afternoon into early evening and produced multiple spotter-verified observations across the local area.

What Happened

NWS warnings began in the area at 3:48 PM CDT and continued in recurring polygons through 6:08 PM CDT, with 13 separate NWS alerts issued for the evolving storm. Early warnings at 3:48 PM and 3:58 PM cited 1-inch hail in NWS warning only messages. Dual-polarization radar returned hail detections later in the sequence, including a radar-derived hail detection at 5:11 PM and subsequent radar returns near 5:48 PM and 6:08 PM. Several warnings between 4:06 PM and 5:34 PM listed larger hail potential in warning products.

Field observers provided multiple spotter-verified reports during the height of the event. Around 5:30 PM CDT two spotters reported "dime to golf ball size hail," which the observers attributed to the same core and which correspond with the radar peak returns. Social media-submitted photos were logged between 5:23 PM and 5:35 PM CDT showing concentrated hail accumulation in residential and roadside locations. Observers submitting through mPING recorded quarter-size stones at 5:52 PM CDT. One spotter noted heavier hail fell to the southeast toward Ponca later in the evening while rainfall totals remained modest at about 0.25 inch at the Howells location.

The storm sequence shows an initial series of NWS warning-only hail alerts, followed by spotter-verified reports and radar detections that aligned with the strongest returns in the 5:20–5:40 PM CDT window. This combination of NWS warnings, spotter verification, and radar-derived hail detections defines the operational timeline and local hail track for the event.

Damage Assessment

Field reports indicate scattered surface impact concentrated along the storm core near Howells and extending southeast toward Ponca. Multiple spotter-verified photos and observer notes documented visible hail accumulation in yards and on road shoulders. Several observers explicitly reported little to no structural damage; one observer at 6:10 PM CDT described heavy rain and mostly dime-sized hail with "no damage." Two separate spotter-verified social media photos and two identical spotter quotes at 5:30 PM CDT reported dime-to-golf-ball size stones in the immediate Howells area.

mPING entries at 5:52 PM CDT recorded quarter-size stones at two locations, consistent with the radar returns showing concentric hail cores. A 5:26 PM CDT social media photo was categorized at roughly 1.5 inches by an observer, and a 6:15 PM CDT field note placed larger stones closer to Ponca while reporting only 0.25 inch of rainfall at the Howells observation site. There are no spotter-verified reports of roof loss, torn siding, or vehicle total losses in the submitted ground-truth records for Howells.