Kansas City Hail: May 19, 2025
Big stones up north, a steady pile of golf ball hail down south. Here is how May 19, 2025, spread across the metro and what to do with the date.
May 19, 2025, hit the metro in two places at once. North of the Missouri River, NOAA's Storm Prediction Center (SPC) logged stones of 2.5 inches within 10 miles of Liberty and Kearney. South, across the state line, golf ball hail piled up over Johnson County. Eight cities in the metro record ended that Monday with 10 or more reports on file. This date sits in SPC's 2025 file, which can still be revised.
Big stones north, volume south
Hail of 1 inch or larger reached 13 of the 20 cities in the metro record. The largest stones were logged near two Clay County cities. Liberty logged 11 reports, topping out at 2.5 inches, a tie with the largest stone in its file. Kearney, outside the 20 city record, logged 13 reports at the same top size. Its 13 reports tie for the most of any city that day. Gladstone logged 10 reports nearby, yet its stones stopped at 1.5 inches.
In Johnson County, the count ran high and the size held at golf ball. Merriam and Prairie Village each logged 13 reports. Leawood logged 11, the most of any golf ball day on its list. Lenexa, Overland Park and Shawnee logged 10 each. Olathe added six. Every one of them topped out at 1.75 inches.
In the middle of the metro, the hail ran smaller. Kansas City, Kansas, logged nine reports and Kansas City, Missouri, seven, both topping out at 1.5 inches. Parkville and Raytown logged smaller counts at that same size.
Past the edge of the record, Bonner Springs logged three reports and Gardner one, each reaching golf ball size. Platte City and Leavenworth stayed at 1.25 inches.
The east and south sides missed. SPC's file shows nothing of 1 inch or more that day near Independence, Blue Springs, Grain Valley, Lee's Summit, Grandview, Belton or Raymore. Harrisonville is blank for the date as well.
Not the widest, but deep
By reach, May 19, 2025, sits just below the top tier. Ten days in the record put 1 inch hail near more cities. Two of those were May days, May 26, 2016, with 19 cities, and May 8, 2024, with 14.
What stands out is depth. Eight of the 13 cities logged 10 or more reports. Of the eight storm days broken out city by city on this site, only May 26, 2016, matches that. April 13, 2018, a busy day for Johnson County, managed two.
For the two Clay County cities, the day sits near the top of their files. Liberty has now logged 2.5 inch hail on four separate days, and this is the latest. No golf ball day in Kearney's file has more reports than this one, and its largest stone on file is the same 2.5 inches.
It is also one of two wide days in 2025. On September 16, 2025, hail reached more cities, 15 in all, but the largest stones stopped at golf ball size. May 19 had the bigger hail. For Olathe, Gardner and Liberty, it is still the latest 1 inch day on file. Both 2025 days sit beside the rest on the Kansas City hail history page.
What a 2025 date can prove
A claim starts with a date of loss, and your carrier will ask you for one. If your car sat in Clay County or Johnson County that Monday, this date is a reasonable candidate. The record proves less than you might hope, though. It places hail near a city. It does not place a single stone on your car, and only the car can show damage.
SPC treats its 2025 file as open. Counts and sizes for this day can still change when that file gets revised.
Drivers in Johnson County have a second 2025 date to rule in or out. On September 16, 2025, Leawood, Lenexa, Merriam, Overland Park, Prairie Village and Shawnee all logged golf ball hail again. Photos taken between the two dates help show which storm did what. If you have none, say so plainly and let your carrier decide how to treat it.
A dent count, panel by panel, shows what the car carries right now. Ask your carrier what it needs from you, and by when. If the car has waited since May 2025, how long can you wait to fix hail damage lays out what that wait can cost.
Get the panel by panel list
Call for a free assessment. The crew comes to your driveway or lot and counts every dent on every panel. You hear which dents will not come out before you decide anything.
City by city, that day
Swipe sideways for the largest size.
| City | Reports, 1 in or larger | Largest size |
|---|---|---|
| Kearney, MO | 13 | 2.50 in |
| Liberty, MO | 11 | 2.50 in |
| Merriam, KS | 13 | 1.75 in |
| Prairie Village, KS | 13 | 1.75 in |
| Leawood, KS | 11 | 1.75 in |
| Lenexa, KS | 10 | 1.75 in |
| Overland Park, KS | 10 | 1.75 in |
| Shawnee, KS | 10 | 1.75 in |
| Olathe, KS | 6 | 1.75 in |
| Bonner Springs, KS | 3 | 1.75 in |
| Gardner, KS | 1 | 1.75 in |
| Gladstone, MO | 10 | 1.50 in |
| Kansas City, KS | 9 | 1.50 in |
| Kansas City, MO | 7 | 1.50 in |
| Parkville, MO | 4 | 1.50 in |
| Raytown, MO | 3 | 1.50 in |
| Platte City, MO | 4 | 1.25 in |
| Leavenworth, KS | 2 | 1.25 in |
- 13 of the 20 cities in the metro record logged hail of 1 inch or larger that day.
- A report counts for a city when its starting point lies within 10 miles of the city's Census internal point. Dates are SPC's, in Central Standard Time. One inch is SPC's severe hail threshold, 1.75 inches is golf ball size, and 2.75 inches is baseball size.
- Reports are spotter and public reports, not storms. One storm can produce many reports, and a storm with no observer produces none.
- The 2025 file is SPC's file for the current year, and it can still be revised.
- One report can count for several cities when their circles overlap.
Questions About May 19, 2025
For size, Liberty shares the top spot with Kearney. Both logged stones of 2.5 inches, the largest reported near any city that day. For count, Merriam, Prairie Village and Kearney logged more, 13 each to Liberty's 11. That 2.5 inch stone ties the largest in Liberty's file. SPC can still revise its 2025 data, so treat these figures as the current version.
SPC's file has no report of 1 inch or larger near Independence that day. The same goes for Blue Springs, Grain Valley, Lee's Summit, Grandview, Belton and Raymore. That does not prove no hail fell there. Hail under 1 inch never reaches this table at all. If you found dents that week, a count on the car shows what it took.
Start with your policy. It sets how soon a loss must be reported, and your carrier decides what it accepts after that. Call your carrier and ask before you assume either way. Then get every dent counted. If the car sat outside again on September 16, 2025, mention it, because several Johnson County cities logged golf ball hail that day too.
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