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The worst of Nebraska's July 3, 2026 severe weather landed in the state's southwest corner, where a supercell dumped some of the largest hail of the summer on Hitchcock County. Trained storm spotters near Stratton measured and photographed hail up to 3 inches across — tea-cup size, bigger than a baseball — backed by a stack of corroborating reports of 2-inch, 1.75-inch, and 1.5-inch stones from the same cell, all logged by the National Weather Service office in Goodland (GLD). A few miles west at Wauneta in Chase County, a personal weather station clocked a 74 mph gust alongside golf ball-sized 1.75-inch hail — a pairing that drives stones sideways into anything facing the wind.
The northwest panhandle took its own beating the same day. Around Hay Springs in Sheridan County, spotters reported 1.5-inch walnut-sized hail — captured on social-media video — with quarter-sized stones in town and 1-inch hail at nearby Rushville, while a mesonet station to the south measured a 67 mph gust near Berea. For that corner of the state it was a familiar bruise: the same Sheridan County towns were pelted by 2-inch hail only days earlier on June 29, one more hit in a punishing run of late-June and early-July storms across the High Plains. Farther east, an isolated 1-inch report near Farnam in Dawson County marked the leading edge of the day's activity.
July 3 concentrated its worst on ranch country and small towns far from the interstate — but 3-inch hail does the same work on a farmhouse roof as it does on a suburban one, and the more common 1- to 1.75-inch stones tend to loosen protective granules or dent metal panels in ways that stay hidden until a leak shows up months later. Southeast Seamless keeps tabs on Nebraska's severe weather statewide, so if you sat under either the southwest or panhandle round, photograph the damage while it's fresh and use the lookup tool below to see how close the core tracked to your address. Our free, documented inspections cover our southeast Nebraska service area — but the same lookup gives any homeowner in the state a dated head start on a claim.
Read about the Statewide, Nebraska storm above? Now find out how close it actually came to your address. Insurance companies want a specific storm and a specific date. Look up your address below to see exactly which hail and wind events passed over your home — so you can file with confidence, not guesswork.
Enter your address to see recent storms, how close they passed, and the exact dates — the same details your insurer will ask for.
Not every storm is worth a claim. As a rule of thumb, it's worth having us take a look if all three of these are true:
Here's where the Statewide, Nebraska storm caused the most damage. If you're in or near one of these towns, get your roof checked.
The day's headline: trained spotters measured and photographed 3-inch tea-cup hail — bigger than a baseball — along with a barrage of 2", 1.75", and 1.5" stones from the same southwest-Nebraska supercell.
A personal weather station clocked a 74 mph gust while golf ball-sized 1.75" hail fell nearby — wind-driven hail that hammers walls, not just roofs.
On the eastern edge of the southwest storms, Farnam picked up 1" quarter-sized hail, confirmed by a social-media photo.
The panhandle's largest hail — 1.5" walnut-sized stones caught on video, plus quarter-sized hail in town — fell on the same area that took 2" hail on June 29.
West of Hay Springs, Rushville added 1" hail as the northwest round pushed across Sheridan County.
A mesonet station south of Hay Springs measured a 67 mph gust near Berea — the strongest panhandle wind of the day.
Storm damage often hides until the next heavy rain. Here's what to check after a hail or wind event — or let us do it for you, free.
In Nebraska you typically have a limited window — often one to two years from the date of the storm — to file a hail or wind damage claim. Document damage early, before the deadline and before the next heavy rain turns a hidden bruise into an interior leak.
The largest was 3-inch hail — bigger than a baseball — measured and photographed by trained spotters at Stratton in Hitchcock County. The same southwest storm dropped 2-inch and 1.75-inch stones nearby, and 1.75-inch golf-ball hail fell at Wauneta alongside a 74 mph wind gust.
Up to 1.5 inches — walnut-sized — around Hay Springs in Sheridan County, captured on video, with 1-inch hail at Rushville and a 67 mph gust near Berea. It struck the same corner of the panhandle that took 2-inch hail on June 29.
Yes. Baseball-plus hail cracks shingles, punctures skylights, dents metal roofing and gutters, and shreds soft metals like aluminum. Even where stones were smaller, 1- to 1.75-inch hail routinely bruises asphalt shingles and knocks loose the granules that protect them.
Most Nebraska policies give you a limited window — often one to two years from the storm date — to file for hail or wind damage, so the clock on the July 3 storms is already running. Photograph any damage now and pin down the date, because an accurate storm date makes for a cleaner claim.
Southeast Seamless offers free, documented roof, gutter, and siding inspections across its southeast Nebraska service area. The July 3 hail fell mostly in the state's southwest and panhandle — outside that footprint — but any Nebraska homeowner can use the storm lookup tool on this page to check how close the core passed and get a dated start on a claim. Call (402) 265-3017 with questions.
When Todd & Troy Bennett started Southeast Seamless in 1999, they built it on a simple principle: treat every customer the way you'd want to be treated.
"We know that inviting someone to work on your home is a big deal. That's why we show up on time, communicate clearly, clean up after ourselves, and follow through on everything we promise."
— Todd & Troy Bennett, Owners
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