Deer Trail, CO Hail Storm – May 2026

A severe hail event moved through Deer Trail, Colorado on May 21, 2026, producing 4.5-inch stones and a sustained radar-detected hail swath in the late afternoon and early evening.

What Happened

NWS products issued 23 alerts for the Deer Trail area between 3:30 PM and 11:10 PM MDT on May 21. Early afternoon radar detections showed 1.0-inch hail near 3:30 PM. Detections strengthened through late afternoon, with a cluster of larger radar-detected signatures between about 5:20 PM and 6:30 PM. One NWS alert at 5:34 PM was issued based on the warning polygon without an immediate radar-derived size estimate. Two alerts near 6:27 PM and 7:18 PM included spotter corroboration in addition to radar detection.

Field observers provided multiple time-stamped reports inside the NWS alert area. Two storm chasers estimated 4.5 inches in diameter at 5:50 PM MDT. mPING submissions and local spotters reported a range of impacts earlier and later in the sequence, including tennis-ball and baseball-size reports around 5:19 PM and 5:44 PM, and several golf-ball and smaller reports through the evening. A social media post with photo and video placed golf-ball-size hail at roughly 8:10 PM MDT based on radar timing. The mix of radar-detected alerts and spotter-verified messages shows a prolonged period of large-stone hail moving through the Deer Trail corridor.

Damage Assessment

Field reports and time-stamped imagery documented large individual stones and concentrated hailfall across the Deer Trail alert area. Two independent storm chasers provided near-simultaneous visual estimates at 5:50 PM MDT. Multiple citizen-submitted mPING reports recorded 2.5- to 3.0-inch stones earlier in the late afternoon, and later spotter entries recorded persistent golf-ball-size hail into the evening.

The incident dataset for this event does not include verified structural-collapse reports or official emergency-damage assessments. Photographic and video evidence submitted from the field and social channels showed heavy hail accumulation on exposed surfaces where observers recorded images. Photographs and witness notes are timestamped and should be used to correlate damage locations with the radar-detected hail swath and the NWS alert area.

What Contractors Should Know

Inspect properties along the late-afternoon hail corridor first. Prioritize the locations with time-stamped spotter reports between 5:15 PM and 6:00 PM MDT, then work outward to addresses associated with evening observations near 8:10 PM. Photograph roofs, siding, vents, HVAC units, and vehicles with dated images. Include a short video of the surrounding area to document hail distribution and roof slope.

Expect a range of impact types. Look for punctures in soft roofing materials, fractured granules and hail bruising on composite shingles, cracked skylights, denting on metal flashings and gutters, and hail dings on vehicle bodies. For agricultural and outbuilding inspections, check exposed machinery, irrigation equipment, and unprotected roofing panels that observers in the field commonly document in storms of this magnitude.