Storm report · Polk

Hail in Lake Wales May 26, 2026

The radar-estimated size surface caught this storm, reaching 0.5" aloft. NEXRAD logged no point detections over Lake Wales this day.

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Largest hailstone

0.5"

≈ pea to penny · radar-estimated size aloft

Homes in the hail footprint

110

Ground reports

none filed

Severity

The 16th most severe storm Lake Wales has seen in the last 12 months

Storm severity score

Overview's storm severity score weighs hailstone size, homes in the footprint, and ground-truth reports.

1.8 /10

Hail size: 13 /100
Homes exposed: 41 /100
Ground truth: 0 /100

Two ways to read the storm

How Lake Wales 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-estimated hail-size map of the storm over Lake Wales, FL on May 26, 2026 — The modeled maximum hail size across the swath, derived from radar aloft — the largest stone the storm could have supported, which is not necessarily what reached the ground.

Max size 0.5"

Only the radar-estimated size surface resolved for May 26, 2026 — this storm produced no NEXRAD point detections over Lake Wales, so there is one map to show, not two.

The storm in context

Where May 26, 2026 sits in Lake Wales's hail record

This was Lake Wales's 5th recorded hail day, arriving 14 days after the May 12, 2026 storm. By severity it ranks 16th of the 20 storms we have logged here. Radar put the day's largest stone over Lake Wales at 0.5" — radar-estimated size aloft.

The May 26, 2026 convective day was bigger than Lake Wales: the same system put hail over 259 other tracked cities, 4 of them in Florida. Nearest: Parrish (60 miles west, up to 0.75"); Palmetto (72 miles west, up to 0.75"); Bradenton (73 miles west, up to 0.75").

These maps are stills from Lake Wales's May 26, 2026 storm. In the Overview app the same surfaces are live — radar updating in real time, radar-estimated hail size as it forms, and NWS spotter reports pinned where they're filed — with a radar replay you can scrub back over any past day.

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.

Below the severe threshold

What 0.5" hail means for Lake Wales roofs

Hail under three-quarters of an inch stays below the National Weather Service severe threshold and rarely breaks shingles outright. But repeated small-hail events accelerate granule loss and shorten roof life — on older roofs, it's still worth a conversation.

What this storm is worth to a roofer

$1.3M

Potential roof exposure — 110 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 110 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.

Claims from this storm can typically be filed until around May 2028 — the window to reach these homeowners while it's still open. Deadlines vary by policy and state.

Track hail over Lake Wales on the live map

Radar updates in real time, spotter reports appear on the map as they're filed, and the full Lake Wales storm history — this May 26, 2026 storm included — sits underneath. When you're ready, draw this storm's footprint and pull highly accurate homeowner contact information for every address inside it.

Reach 110 affected homes → Book a 15-min demo

Highly accurate contact information starting at $0.23 per address — every contact included. Digital leads cost $15–$40. Start with a 7-day free trial — no credit card required. See pricing

Lake Wales hail history

20 recorded storm days in Lake Wales, FL

← All hail in Lake Wales

Other storms in Lake Wales

Jul 26, 2026