Bean Station, TN Hail Storm – July 2026

A hail-producing storm tracked across Bean Station, Tennessee on July 28, 2026, producing a peak measured hail size of 1.84 inches and numerous storm warnings. The event featured repeated NWS warning coverage and multiple radar-detected hail cores from mid-morning into late evening.

What Happened

The system began producing NWS warning activity in the mid-morning and continued through the overnight hours, generating 58 NWS alerts across the metro on July 28. Early in the day a spotter near Thorn Hill reported quarter-sized hail and secondhand reports of wind damage at 8:47 AM CDT. Around mid-afternoon, a spotter in Murphy reported quarter-sized to slightly larger hail, measured at about 1.25 inches at 3:42 PM CDT.

Warnings clustered in the late afternoon into early evening. Dual-polarization radar detected stronger hail cores beginning in the early evening, with radar returns consistent with 1.75-inch hail at 6:02 PM CDT and a 2.0-inch radar signature at 6:26 PM CDT south of the core Bean Station area. Subsequent radar cores produced additional elevated signatures, including a 1.5-inch echo at 7:27 PM CDT and a later 1.24-inch radar return at 10:26 PM CDT. Most NWS-issued alerts during the event were labeled as NWS warning only, while a subset of alerts corresponded to radar-detected hail cores verified by dual-polarization data.

Field observations and radar together show a multi-wave event. Spotter-verified hail reports occurred in the Thorn Hill and Murphy corridors in the morning and mid-afternoon. Radar-detected larger cores moved through the metro in the early evening and again late at night, producing the storm-wide peak hail measurement recorded for the event.

Damage Assessment

Field reports tied damage indicators to specific locations rather than broad claims. The Thorn Hill report at 8:47 AM CDT indicated quarter-sized hail and neighbor-observed wind effects; that observer described localized yard and small-branch impacts rather than widespread structural failure. The Murphy report at 3:42 PM CDT documented stones up to about 1.25 inches and noted localized surface impacts at that site.

Radar-detected 1.75- to 2.0-inch cores passed through portions of the metro in the early evening (6:02 PM CDT and 6:26 PM CDT), but no additional spotter reports of multi-inch hail within Bean Station city limits were submitted. Insurance or restoration teams mobilizing to inspect claims should expect verified hail impact concentrated along the Thorn Hill and Murphy observation points and along the radar track south of central Bean Station where larger radar cores were recorded. Reports did not include verified roof failures or structural collapses tied to this storm in the submitted field data.

Where spotters noted wind effects near Thorn Hill, check for downed small branches and isolated yard damage on the addresses adjacent to the original report. Where the Murphy observer recorded 1.25-inch stones, prioritize paint chips, softened metal dents, and immediate windshield or sunroof inspection on vehicles parked outdoors in that neighborhood during the mid-afternoon window.

Bean Station, TN Hail Storm – July 2026

NWS WARNING AREAS · 63

What Happened

Damage Assessment

Storm Details

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