StormProof → hail seasons → Rapid City → 2016
Rapid City hail season 2016
75 NWS-recorded hail reports ≥1″ within 25 miles, across 20 storm days, max 3.00". Every one of those reports is a dated, located, citable official record — the context behind this market's 2016 claim volume.
Biggest storm days (2016, final record)
| Date | ≥1″ reports | Max hail | Areas named in the record |
|---|---|---|---|
| July 18, 2016 | 10 | 3.00" | PENNINGTON, MEADE |
| August 8, 2016 | 9 | 2.75" | PENNINGTON, LAWRENCE |
| May 20, 2016 | 9 | 2.00" | CUSTER, PENNINGTON |
| July 3, 2016 | 8 | 1.75" | CUSTER, PENNINGTON, MEADE |
| July 29, 2016 | 6 | 2.75" | CUSTER, PENNINGTON |
“Check times. First report was nickel; call made at 1621 MDT. Second report was recorded at 1630 MDT.”
— NWS event narrative, July 18, 2016 (NCEI Storm Events)
When it fell
May 10 · Jun 6 · Jul 38 · Aug 18 · Sep 3
Wind context: the record also holds 34 thunderstorm-wind events ≥50 kt (≈58 mph, the NWS severe criterion) in this radius for 2016 — relevant where the dispute is wind vs hail causation.
Working a Rapid City claim from 2016?
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 c20260527, hail events with recorded magnitude ≥1.00″ and point coordinates within 25 miles of the Rapid City anchor. 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.