Big-time hail Western Oklahoma 5/9/2026 — Bryce Kintigh

Published on May 9, 2026

When it’s May, you chase – especially when it’s a weekend. There wasn’t much discussion within my team for May 9, 2026 – we opted to chase western Oklahoma.

The Storm Prediction Center’s Outlook (below) indicated a Slight Risk across central and western Oklahoma.

The biggest risk for this day is for hail, some of which was expected to be significant.

Severe storm near Cheyenne, Oklahoma. @NWSNorman — We jumped on a severe storm near Cheyenne, Oklahoma in Roger Mills County. The storm didn’t visually look great at first, but quickly intensified and began producing huge hail.

Larger than 2 — We encountered larger than 2″ diameter hail in Elk City, Oklahoma. Golfball sized hailstones was scattered everywhere, but we located several pieces in west Elk City that were closer to tennis ball sized.

Mammatus clouds overhead north of Arapaho, Oklahoma. #okwx — We followed the storm off to the southeast of Elk City for a bit – and then went north to Canute and Clinton. The sky put on a show as the sun started to set. Mammatus clouds galore!

The sky continued to put on a show as sunset approached – taken approximately 10 miles north of Clinton, Oklahoma.

Storms moved in from the northwest right after sunset – and provided a shelf cloud – so I took my best attempt at a “shelfie”.

Overall it was a fun day – didn’t get into the storm structure quite as much as I would have liked since we came in behind the storms to sample the hail – but still had a blast. Bottom line is – it’s May, you chase.

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