Hail in Lake Wales · Mar 15, 2026
NEXRAD logged 31 hail signatures up to 2"; the estimated-size surface reached 0.5" aloft. At 2" — tennis ball — this is a severe hail signal associated with roof damage. Open it on the live map to see the swath over the streets.
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Convective day · Mar 15, 2026 · noon–noon UTC
Severity
The 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
- 50 /100
- Homes exposed
- 78 /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
Each storm gets two readings: the radar signatures NEXRAD recorded as the cells passed overhead, and a modeled estimate of hail size in the air. They are independent surfaces, so a mismatch between them is expected — and worth reading.
Radar signature field The point detections NEXRAD recorded overhead. Each signature marks where the radar saw hail aloft — it is a detection, not a stone measured on the ground.
Estimated size field Radar-estimated hail size over the swath. The model reports the biggest stone the storm could sustain in the air; what actually fell may have been smaller.
The storm in context
Where Mar 15, 2026 sits in Lake Wales's hail record.
This was Lake Wales's 2nd recorded hail day, arriving 10 days after the Mar 5, 2026 storm. By severity it ranks 1st of the 28 storms we have logged here. Radar put the day's largest stone over Lake Wales at 2" — the largest NEXRAD radar signature.
The Mar 15, 2026 convective day was bigger than Lake Wales: the same system put hail over 695 other tracked cities, 66 of them in Florida. Nearest: Kissimmee (11 miles north, up to 1.75"); Bartow (14 miles southwest, up to 2"); Lake Alfred (14 miles northwest, up to 1.25").
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.
No ground reports were filed with the National Weather Service for this storm over Lake Wales. 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.
Severe hail signal
What 2" hail means for Lake Wales roofs.
Two-inch-plus hail is capable of puncturing shingles, breaking skylights or windows, and heavily denting soft materials. The strongest radar bands warrant prompt inspection, but neither the signal nor the footprint confirms damage at a specific address.
Radar reading · not confirmed damage
Roofing exposure
What this storm is worth to a roofer.
Potential roof exposure
$91M
Potential roof exposure — 7,568 homes × the ~$12,000 industry-average hail roof claim. Exposure, not confirmed damage.
- Illustrative jobs
- 38 jobs
- Illustrative work
- ~$570K
Close just 0.5% of the 7,568 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 $1,589 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"
NEXRAD surface Mar 5, 2026
1"The next storm won’t wait for you.
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