Winfield hail damage from the June 13, 2026 storm may still be sitting on roofs that nobody has checked. The National Weather Service in Wichita logged hail from 1 inch to 4 inches across around Winfield between 6:50 and 7:00 p.m. that Saturday. Hail of 1 inch can damage a standard shingle roof.
Almost four months have passed. Here is what fell and where, what it does to a roof, and how the insurance clock works if you have not filed.
What happened in Winfield on June 13, 2026?
A cold front pushed a line of storms south across Kansas that evening. Ahead of it, a supercell formed near the Oklahoma border, split, and sent a left-moving storm northeast toward Cowley County. The National Weather Service summary says: “This storm produced extremely large hail with a few stones reported as large as softballs!”
These are the Cowley County hail reports from that summary. Distances are measured from the town named.
| Time | Location | Hail size | About the size of |
|---|---|---|---|
| 6:50 p.m. | 5 miles east-southeast of Oxford | 2.50 in. | Tennis ball |
| 6:52 p.m. | 4 miles southwest of Winfield | 1.50 in. | Ping pong ball |
| 6:58 p.m. | 3 miles northwest of Winfield | 2.75 in. | Baseball |
| 6:58 p.m. | 2 miles west-northwest of Winfield | 2.50 in. | Tennis ball |
| 6:59 p.m. | 5 miles east of Oxford | 1.75 in. | Golf ball |
| 7:00 p.m. | 4 miles north of Winfield | 4.00 in. | Softball |
| 7:00 p.m. | 4 miles south-southwest of Winfield | 1.00 in. | Quarter |
Size comparisons follow the National Weather Service hail reference chart.
Wind arrived two and a half hours later
The squall line reached town about 9:30 p.m. Spotters reported 70 mph two miles south of Winfield and 71 mph one mile north of Arkansas City at 9:29 p.m. A public report put a 71 mph gust two miles southwest of Winfield at 9:32 p.m., and power lines came down in town. Shingles bruised by hail at 7:00 p.m. took a second hit from wind before bedtime. Our guide to wind damage on a roof shows what that looks like.
Where around Winfield was the hail largest?
The largest stones were reported west and north of town: 2.50 inches two miles west-northwest, 2.75 inches three miles northwest and 4 inches four miles north. Reports to the south and southwest were smaller, at 1 to 1.50 inches.
Treat those reports as points on a map, not a boundary. Hail falls in streaks, and a block near Southwestern College can fare differently from a house by Island Park or a farmstead out toward Oxford. The reports are tied to distances from town, not street addresses, so the record says little about any single block. The only way to rule out Winfield hail damage is to look at the roof.
Is that hail big enough to damage a roof?
Yes. Haag Engineering research gives these threshold sizes, the point where hail starts to damage a roofing material in sound condition:
- 3-tab asphalt shingles: 1 inch
- 30-year laminated shingles: 1.25 inches
- Cedar shingles: 1.25 inches
- Concrete tile: 1.75 inches
Every Cowley County report on June 13 met or passed the 1 inch mark, and five of the seven were 1.75 inches or larger. Older shingles are more brittle, so damage can start below those sizes. Even a Class 4 roof has limits. The impact test behind that rating tops out at a 2 inch steel ball, as we explain in impact-resistant shingles in Kansas.
What does Winfield hail damage look like four months later?
Some evidence fades and some gets easier to see. Spatter marks on painted and weathered surfaces wear away over a season. Bruised shingles do the opposite. Loosened granules keep washing off, and dark spots of exposed asphalt show up where the stones hit.
You can check these from the ground:
- Gutters and downspouts. Piles of shingle granules at the splash blocks or in the troughs.
- Soft metals. Dents in roof vents, flashing, gutter faces, mailbox tops and air conditioner fins.
- Siding, window beading and screens. Chips, cracks and torn mesh on the side of the house that faced the storm.
- Ceilings. New stains after the August and September rains.
Stay off the roof. Bruises are hard to spot without training, and a wrong call costs you either way. Our article on hail damage vs roof wear explains what an adjuster counts and what gets written off as age.
Is it too late to file a claim for the June hail?
Probably not. For a Winfield hail damage claim from June, the deadline is in your policy, not in a general rule. Policies require prompt notice of a loss, and many set their own time limits for filing and for collecting replacement cost. Read the conditions section this week instead of next spring.
Once you report the loss, Kansas regulation K.A.R. 40-1-34 puts the insurer on a schedule:
- 10 working days to acknowledge the claim
- 30 days to complete its investigation, or explain why it cannot
- 15 working days after it receives proof of loss to accept or deny
Give the insurer the date of loss, June 13, 2026, and keep a copy of the weather service summary with your photos. Then follow the steps in how to file a roof insurance claim.
Will insurance pay for hail damage to a roof?
Hail is a covered cause of loss on most homeowner policies. What you collect depends on two things. The first is your wind and hail deductible, which the Kansas Insurance Department says “is generally one to two percent of the amount of insurance carried on the structure.” The second is whether the roof is insured for replacement cost or actual cash value. See ACV vs RCV roof coverage. If the answer comes back no, read what to do when a roof claim is denied in Kansas.
How long will a roof last after hail damage?
There is no fixed number. A roof with a few bruises may shed water for years. One with fractured shingle mats can leak in the next hard rain. Hail that knocks granules loose exposes the asphalt to sun, and the shingle ages faster from that day on. That lost service life is the reason insurers pay for functional hail damage even when nothing is dripping yet. Waiting also makes Winfield hail damage harder to tie to the June storm.
How do I choose a roofer in Winfield after a storm?
- Check the state registration. Every roofing contractor needs a certificate from the Kansas Attorney General. Here is how to look up a Kansas roofing contractor.
- Ask about the permit. Winfield is outside the Wichita and Sedgwick County permit office’s area. Ask your roofer what the City of Winfield requires, or call City Hall yourself.
- Turn down deductible offers. See can a roofer pay my deductible in Kansas.
- Get the scope in writing. Material, tear-off, decking and cleanup should all be listed.
Has Cowley County seen hail like this before?
Yes. Winfield hail damage is part of a long local record. On September 15, 2010 a storm dropped the Kansas record hailstone, 7.75 inches across, in west Wichita, and its hail swath ran from Goddard to Udall in northwest Cowley County. Kansas had 375 major hail events in 2025, second only to Texas, according to the Insurance Information Institute.
Winfield hail damage questions
How do I know if my house was hit?
Match your address to the report locations above, check the soft metals, then get the roof inspected. Photos or video from that evening help.
What size hail damages a roof?
About 1 inch for 3-tab shingles and 1.25 inches for laminated shingles in sound condition, according to Haag Engineering.
Did Wichita get hail from the same storm?
The Sedgwick County reports that night were wind: 64 mph at Eisenhower National Airport, 65 mph near Derby and 60 mph in Haysville.
Should I repair or replace after hail?
It depends on how many shingles are damaged on each slope and how old the roof is. See roof repair vs roof replacement.
Get your roof checked for Winfield hail damage
Equity Builders is a Wichita roofing company, about 40 miles up K-15, and Winfield is part of our service area. Read about our Winfield roof repair team and our hail damage roof repair work. We have been in business since 1985 and are registered with the Kansas Attorney General’s Consumer Protection Office. Call (316) 425-0455 or request a free estimate.
Sources
- National Weather Service Wichita, “June 13th widespread damaging winds and very large hail,” storm summary and local storm reports
- National Weather Service, wind and hail reference chart
- Marshall, Herzog, Morrison and Smith, Haag Engineering, hail damage threshold sizes for common roofing materials
- Kansas Administrative Regulation 40-1-34, claim handling standards
- Kansas Insurance Department, Homeowners and Renters Insurance Shopper’s Guide
- Insurance Information Institute, Facts and Statistics: Hail
Last updated October 7, 2026. Storm reports are preliminary National Weather Service data. Your policy sets your own claim deadlines.