Hail in Lake Wales · May 12, 2026
NEXRAD logged 5 hail signatures up to 2.75"; the estimated-size surface reached 0.75" aloft. At 2.75" — baseball — 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 · May 12, 2026 · noon–noon UTC
Severity
The 4th 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
- 69 /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 Lake Wales saw the hail — from two instruments
Two instruments, one storm: NEXRAD logs the point signatures it detected overhead, while the estimated-size surface models how large the hail aloft could have grown. Agreement between them is not guaranteed — the gaps are where the model ran ahead of, or behind, the detections.
Radar signature field NEXRAD's hail signatures for this storm: the spots the radar detected from above. A detection overhead is not the same thing as a confirmed stone below.
Estimated size field Radar-estimated maximum hail size across the swath, modeled from radar aloft. It reflects the biggest stone the storm could support, which may differ from what actually fell.
The storm in context
Where May 12, 2026 sits in Lake Wales's hail record.
This was Lake Wales's 4th recorded hail day, arriving 48 days after the Mar 25, 2026 storm. By severity it ranks 4th of the 28 storms we have logged here. Radar put the day's largest stone over Lake Wales at 2.75" — the largest NEXRAD radar signature.
The May 12, 2026 convective day was bigger than Lake Wales: the same system put hail over 18 other tracked cities, 13 of them in Florida. Nearest: Kenansville (15 miles east, up to 2.5"); Haines City (18 miles northwest, up to 0.75"); Orlando (41 miles north, up to 3").
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.
The National Weather Service logged no spotter reports for this storm over Lake Wales. 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.
Severe hail signal
What 2.75" 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
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 Mar 25, 2026
0.75"
Estimated-size surface Mar 15, 2026
2"
NEXRAD surface Mar 5, 2026
1"The next storm won’t wait for you.
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