StormProof → hail seasons → Rapid City → 2026
Rapid City hail season 2026
10 NWS-recorded hail reports ≥1″ within 25 miles, across 3 storm days, max 1.75". Every one of those reports is a dated, located, citable official record — the context behind this market's 2026 claim volume.
Biggest storm days (2026, final record)
| Date | ≥1″ reports | Max hail | Areas named in the record |
|---|---|---|---|
| June 22, 2026 | 8 | 1.75" | PENNINGTON, LAWRENCE |
| June 26, 2026 | 1 | 1.00" | MEADE |
| June 4, 2026 | 1 | 1.00" | PENNINGTON |
“Hail of at least quarter size covered the ground near Dew Drop Laundromat. Photos and videos received via social media. Time estimated based on radar.”
— NWS event narrative, June 22, 2026 (NCEI Storm Events)
When it fell
Jun 10
Preliminary 2026 reports (SPC, season in progress)
Same-day SPC storm reports through 2026-10-01, before NCEI compiles the final record: 61 reports ≥1″ on 9 days, up to 3.60". Preliminary counts shift as reports are quality-controlled; they are labeled preliminary in every report we generate.
| Date (preliminary) | ≥1″ reports | Max hail | Locations |
|---|---|---|---|
| August 11, 2026 | 31 | 3.60" | 3 SSW Hermosa, 2 SSW Hermosa, 2 SW Hermosa, 1 SSW Hermosa |
| June 22, 2026 | 8 | 1.75" | 2 SSE Dwtn Rapid City, 4 WSW Dwtn Rapid City, 3 WSW Dwtn Rapid City, 2 WSW Dwtn Rapid City |
| August 18, 2026 | 6 | 1.50" | 5 NE Rockerville, 5 SW Dwtn Rapid City, 5 SSW Dwtn Rapid City, 4 S Dwtn Rapid City |
| July 3, 2026 | 4 | 1.25" | 10 E Custer, 1 ENE Mount Rushmore, Hill City, 4 NW Hill City |
| July 2, 2026 | 4 | 1.75" | 4 NE Rockerville, 4 WNW New Underwood, 3 N New Underwood, 7 NNE Ellsworth AFB |
Wind context: the record also holds 12 thunderstorm-wind events ≥50 kt (≈58 mph, the NWS severe criterion) in this radius for 2026 — relevant where the dispute is wind vs hail causation.
Working a Rapid City claim from 2026?
These are aggregates. A claim file needs the per-address record: every recorded event within 1, 3 and 10 miles of the property, distances, official narratives, and citations an adjuster can check line by line. That's the report — generated in seconds, hosted on HailEvidence (the neutral evidence surface), formatted as an insurance-appeal attachment.
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Provenance
Final counts: NCEI Storm Events Database, file vintage c20260918, hail events with recorded magnitude ≥1.00″ and point coordinates within 25 miles of the Rapid City anchor. Preliminary counts: SPC daily storm reports through 2026-10-01. NWS records are point and path observations. The absence of a nearby report does NOT prove that no hail fell at this address — it means no observation was logged nearby. A report of nearby hail documents the event; it does not by itself prove damage to a specific structure. Spotted an error? Email the address on our terms page and we correct against the source.