Hail in Cottondale · Jul 29, 2026
NEXRAD logged 0 hail signatures up to 0"; the estimated-size surface had no signal that day. Open it on the live map to see the swath over the streets.
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Convective day · Jul 29, 2026 · noon–noon UTC
Severity
The 4th most severe storm Cottondale has seen in the last 12 months
Overview's storm severity score weighs hailstone size, homes in the footprint, and ground-truth reports.
- Peak hail signal
- 0 /100
- Homes exposed
- 0 /100
- Ground truth
- 0 /100
Largest radar-indicated size — a signal of damage potential, not confirmation.
How many homes sit inside the storm's footprint.
Independent storm reports filed with the NWS.
Evidence / storm surfaces
How Cottondale saw the hail — from two instruments
The maps here read the same storm from two angles — point detections from NEXRAD, and modeled hail size aloft. Where the two disagree is informative: it marks where estimated size outran the signatures, or trailed them.
Radar signature field Where NEXRAD flagged hail as the storm passed — point signatures from the radar, which indicate hail overhead rather than confirm what landed.
Only the NEXRAD radar-signature surface resolved for Jul 29, 2026 — the estimated-size swath had no hail signal to model for this storm, so there is one map to show, not two.
The storm in context
Where Jul 29, 2026 sits in Cottondale's hail record.
This was Cottondale's 4th recorded hail day, arriving 10 days after the Jul 19, 2026 storm. By severity it ranks 4th of the 5 storms we have logged here. Radar put the day's largest stone over Cottondale at 0" — radar-estimated size aloft.
The Jul 29, 2026 convective day was bigger than Cottondale: the same system put hail over 359 other tracked cities, 25 of them in Alabama. Nearest: Coaling (0 miles north, up to 0"); Adger (22 miles northeast, up to 0.75"); Montevallo (30 miles east, up to 0.75").
These maps are stills. In the app this date is one of 5 Cottondale storm dates on a live map — both surfaces, the reports, and a replay — and the same map is where you draw the swath. This page rebuilds nightly.
Ground reports
What people on the ground reported
These are storm reports filed with the National Weather Service and released through the NOAA Storm Prediction Center — public-domain observations from spotters, the public, and NWS surveys. We quote each one exactly as filed.
The National Weather Service logged no spotter reports for this storm over Cottondale. That absence is ordinary — filing a report takes a person on the spot who saw the hail and phoned it in. What stands as the record for this date is the radar above, which caught the storm regardless.
Below the severe threshold
What 0" hail means for Cottondale roofs.
Radar signals under three-quarters of an inch stay below the National Weather Service severe threshold and generally indicate lower roof risk. Older or already-worn materials can still show effects, but radar alone cannot determine whether a specific roof was damaged.
Radar reading · not confirmed damage
Cottondale hail history
Other storms in Cottondale.
Estimated-size surface Jul 31, 2026
0.5"
Estimated-size surface Jul 19, 2026
0.5"
NEXRAD surface May 6, 2026
Estimated-size surface Mar 9, 2026
0.5"The next storm won’t wait for you.
Set your territory and alerts today. When hail hits, use Overview to choose your streets and get moving.
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