New Castle, IN Hail Storm – September 2026

A hail-producing storm tracked through New Castle, Indiana on September 20, 2026, producing 2-inch stones and prompting a sequence of NWS warnings that persisted into the overnight hours.

What Happened

NWS products issued 17 alerts for the New Castle area between 6:07 PM and 1:22 AM local time. Two NEXRAD hail-detection estimates were reported during the event: a 1.0-inch radar estimate near 6:11 PM and a 1.89-inch radar estimate near 7:08 PM. The remainder of the alerts were NWS warning-only entries with repeated 0.75-inch reports through the overnight period.

Radar activity intensified in the early evening and again around 7 PM local time. Around 7:10 PM EDT, two spotters in the New Castle area supplied photo-verified observations with time estimates tied to the radar sequence; both spotter-verified submissions documented hen egg-sized hail and were recorded within minutes of the 7:08 PM radar peak. After 8 PM, warning messages continued to cycle through with lower-size reports and no additional radar-estimated peaks above the earlier 1.89-inch detection.

The event produced a multi-hour warning footprint across the local NWS alert area. Radar-detected hail signatures and spotter-verified photographs overlap in time and location for the early evening peak, while later alerts appear to reflect residual storm cells of lesser intensity.

Damage Assessment

Surface impact in the New Castle report set was limited to two spotter-verified photographs of large hail near 7:10 PM. Those photos show intact stones consistent with hen egg size. No field reports in the provided dataset documented roof, vehicle, or structural damage tied to this event within the New Castle area.

NEXRAD-derived hail estimates peaked before the spotter photos, which supports the timing of the largest stones arriving across parts of the city in the early evening. Subsequent radar returns favored smaller hail signatures and produced multiple NWS warning-only entries reporting 0.75-inch activity; ground-truth reports for those later warnings were not present in the submitted observations.

For insurers and assessments, the current ground-truth indicates localized ground accumulation of large hail but no accompanying submitted damage claims or Local Storm Reports in the New Castle field set. Photographs from spotters provide verifiable physical evidence of stone size and timing in the immediate vicinity of downtown New Castle and adjacent neighborhoods.

What Contractors Should Know

Storm timing concentrated impact around early evening. Plan initial canvasses for first daylight after the event. Prioritize residences and fleets located inside the NWS warning area for the 6 PM to 8 PM window, and note that the highest radar estimates clustered near 7 PM. Use the spotter photos dated at about 7:10 PM as reference points when establishing a starting block for inspections.