Hail in Cottonwood · Apr 12, 2026
Convective day · Apr 12, 2026 · noon–noon UTC
Severity
Cottonwood's only recorded storm in the last 12 months
Overview's storm severity score weighs hailstone size, homes in the footprint, and ground-truth reports.
- Peak hail signal
- 19 /100
- Homes exposed
- 26 /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 Cottonwood saw the hail — from two instruments
We map this storm two ways: the NEXRAD radar signatures the storm produced overhead, and the radar-estimated size of the hail in the air. The two surfaces don’t have to match — where they diverge is where estimated size aloft ran ahead of, or behind, what the signatures caught.
Radar signature field NEXRAD radar signatures — the point detections the storm produced overhead. A signature is where the radar saw hail, not a confirmed stone on the ground.
Only the NEXRAD radar-signature surface resolved for Apr 12, 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 Apr 12, 2026 sits in Cottonwood's hail record.
This was Cottonwood's 1st recorded hail day — the first hail day in our records for the city. By severity it ranks 1st of the 1 storms we have logged here. Radar put the day's largest stone over Cottonwood at 0.75" — the largest NEXRAD radar signature.
The Apr 12, 2026 convective day was bigger than Cottonwood: the same system put hail over 85 other tracked cities, 3 of them in California. Nearest: Los Molinos (30 miles southeast, up to 0.75"); Chico (49 miles southeast, up to 1"); Hickman (213 miles southeast, up to 0.75").
These maps are stills. In the app this date is one of 1 Cottonwood storm date 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.
No ground reports were filed with the National Weather Service for this storm over Cottonwood. That is common: a report depends on someone being there to see it and take the time to call it in. The radar surfaces above are the record here — the storm was detected from above even though no one on the ground logged it.
Near the severe threshold
What 0.75" hail means for Cottonwood roofs.
A signal this size sits near the National Weather Service severe threshold. Aging shingles and soft metals such as vents, flashing, and gutters may be more vulnerable; roof age, wind, and material condition all matter, and only an inspection can confirm damage.
Radar reading · not confirmed damage
Roofing exposure
What this storm is worth to a roofer.
Potential roof exposure
$240K
Potential roof exposure — 20 homes × the ~$12,000 industry-average hail roof claim. Exposure, not confirmed damage.
Claim window
April 2028
Claims from this storm can typically be filed until around April 2028 — the window to reach these homeowners while it's still open. Deadlines vary by policy and state.
Names and phones for every home in the footprint: at most $4 on top of the $150 plan.
Cottonwood hail history
Cottonwood's hail record.
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