Hail in Lake Wales · Mar 5, 2026
NEXRAD logged 5 hail signatures up to 1"; 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 · Mar 5, 2026 · noon–noon UTC
Severity
The 13th most severe storm Lake Wales 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
- 25 /100
- Homes exposed
- 41 /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 Lake Wales 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 Mar 5, 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 Mar 5, 2026 sits in Lake Wales's hail record.
This was Lake Wales's 1st recorded hail day — the first hail day in our records for the city. By severity it ranks 13th of the 28 storms we have logged here. Radar put the day's largest stone over Lake Wales at 1" — the largest NEXRAD radar signature.
The Mar 5, 2026 convective day was bigger than Lake Wales: the same system put hail over 343 other tracked cities, 30 of them in Florida. Nearest: Kissimmee (11 miles north, up to 1"); Lake Alfred (14 miles northwest, up to 0.75"); Lithia (39 miles west, up to 2.5").
These maps are stills. In the app this date is one of 28 Lake Wales 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.
For this storm over Lake Wales, the NWS report log is empty — a common outcome, since ground reports only happen when someone witnesses the hail and takes the time to call it in. The detection record for the date lives in the radar maps above.
Damage-capable hail signal
What 1" hail means for Lake Wales roofs.
Quarter-size and larger hail can bruise asphalt mats, remove granules, and dent exposed soft metal. The mapped footprint identifies an inspection priority area — it does not identify which individual roofs, if any, sustained damage.
Radar reading · not confirmed damage
Roofing exposure
What this storm is worth to a roofer.
Potential roof exposure
$1.3M
Potential roof exposure — 106 homes × the ~$12,000 industry-average hail roof claim. Exposure, not confirmed damage.
- Illustrative jobs
- 1 job
- Illustrative work
- ~$15K
Close just 0.5% of the 106 homes in this footprint at the average $15,000 roof job. Illustrative math, not a projection — your results depend on your outreach and how the market responds.
Claim window
March 2028
Claims from this storm can typically be filed until around March 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 $22 on top of the $150 plan.
Lake Wales hail history
Other storms in Lake Wales.
Estimated-size surface Sep 5, 2026
0.5"
Estimated-size surface Sep 4, 2026
0.5"
Estimated-size surface Aug 26, 2026
0.5"
Estimated-size surface Aug 21, 2026
0.75"
Estimated-size surface Aug 20, 2026
0.5"
Estimated-size surface Aug 19, 2026
0.5"
Estimated-size surface Aug 12, 2026
0.5"
Estimated-size surface Aug 5, 2026
0.75"
Estimated-size surface Jul 26, 2026
2.5"
Estimated-size surface Jul 17, 2026
0.75"
Estimated-size surface Jul 16, 2026
0.5"
Estimated-size surface Jul 10, 2026
1.5"
Estimated-size surface Jul 7, 2026
0.75"
Estimated-size surface Jul 4, 2026
1.75"
Estimated-size surface Jun 30, 2026
1"
Estimated-size surface Jun 29, 2026
1.25"
Estimated-size surface Jun 24, 2026
0.75"
Estimated-size surface Jun 23, 2026
1"
Estimated-size surface Jun 22, 2026
2"
Estimated-size surface Jun 21, 2026
0.75"
Estimated-size surface Jun 20, 2026
0.5"
Estimated-size surface Jun 19, 2026
0.75"
Estimated-size surface Jun 12, 2026
0.5"
Estimated-size surface May 26, 2026
0.5"
Estimated-size surface May 12, 2026
2.75"
Estimated-size surface Mar 25, 2026
0.75"
Estimated-size surface Mar 15, 2026
2"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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