Grand Island, Nebraska Hail Report and Map: July 8, 2026

Published October 15, 2026 by StormLens · Storm date (Eastern time) July 8, 2026

Was there hail in Grand Island, NE on July 8, 2026? Radar estimated hail up to 1.52 inches inside the town limits of Grand Island on July 8, 2026 (Eastern time). Radar estimates of at least 0.5 inch covered 26% of the town. Across the report area, the maximum radar estimate was 2.38 inches. The strongest part of the swath was about 14 miles northeast of Grand Island, NE. Radar detected hail aloft in this area between about 5:45 p.m. and 9:40 p.m. CT on July 8, 2026.

Radar-estimated hail swath in Grand Island, NE on July 8, 2026; colors show estimated hail sizes

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Hail estimates at a glance

Storm date (Eastern time)	July 8, 2026 (Wednesday)
Maximum radar estimate across the area	2.38 inches; strongest part of the swath about 14 miles northeast of Grand Island, NE
Maximum radar estimate inside Grand Island	1.52 inches
Share of Grand Island with radar estimates of at least 0.5 inch	26%
Approximate radar timing	Between about 5:45 p.m. and 9:40 p.m. CT on July 8, 2026 (Central time)
County coverage includes (0.5 inch or larger)	Hamilton County (248 sq mi), Nance County (205 sq mi), Merrick County (184 sq mi), Seward County (179 sq mi), York County (146 sq mi) and Platte County (123 sq mi)
Area with radar estimates of 0.5 inch or larger	about 1,348 square miles
Area with radar estimates of 1 inch or larger	about 231 square miles
Source	NOAA MRMS radar hail estimates (MESH)

Which towns had hail on July 8, 2026?

Radar estimated hail of at least 0.5 inch inside these town limits, using U.S. Census boundaries. Each percentage is the share of town area with those estimates.

Town	County	Maximum radar estimate inside town limits	Town area with estimates of at least 0.5 inch
Aurora, NE	Hamilton County	2.13 inches	98%
Friend, NE	Saline County	1.54 inches	100%
Grand Island, NE	Hall County	1.52 inches	26%
Fullerton, NE	Nance County	1.37 inches	100%
Hampton, NE		1.08 inches	100%
Monroe, NE		0.96 inch	100%
Archer, NE		0.96 inch	98%
Alda, NE	Hall County	0.95 inch	94%
Cordova, NE		0.94 inch	100%
Clarks, NE		0.91 inch	100%
Genoa, NE	Nance County	0.88 inch	100%
Chapman, NE		0.81 inch	100%
Lakeview, NE		0.78 inch	100%
Creston, NE		0.76 inch	100%
Seward, NE	Seward County	0.75 inch	85%

How big was the hail in Grand Island?

Radar estimated hail up to 1.52 inches inside the town limits of Grand Island. Among the listed towns, the highest estimate was 2.13 inches inside the limits of Aurora. The maximum estimates in Seward, Fullerton and Friend were 1.54 inches or less. A town's maximum isn't an estimate for every home. Check the swath for estimates around an address.

What time did radar detect hail?

Radar detected hail aloft in this area between about 5:45 p.m. and 9:40 p.m. CT on July 8, 2026. We used 288 NOAA radar hail detections in this area to estimate the window. We trim outlying detection times when enough are available, then round down to five-minute marks. It doesn't give an arrival time at an address.

Data source and limits

We use NOAA's MRMS radar product MESH (Maximum Estimated Size of Hail) for hail-size estimates. Each town's figure is the maximum inside its Census town limits. The percentage is the town area with estimates of at least 0.5 inch. A town's maximum isn't an estimate for every home. Each storm date covers one calendar day in Eastern time. A late-evening storm west of the Eastern time zone can appear under two dates. Radar estimates don't confirm hail on the ground or roof damage. Hail of 0.5 to 0.75 inch can damage roofs, especially older roofs. An estimate below 1 inch doesn't rule out damage. Read how we calculate sizes and times.