Storm report · Polk

Hail in Lake Wales Jul 7, 2026

Hit 27 days ago

Both radar surfaces caught this storm: NEXRAD logged 1 hail signature up to 0.75", and the radar-estimated size reached 0.5" aloft.

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Largest hailstone

0.75"

≈ penny to nickel · the largest NEXRAD radar signature

Homes in the hail footprint

Ground reports

none filed

Severity

The 18th 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.

1.5 /10

Hail size: 19 /100
Homes exposed: 17 /100
Ground truth: 0 /100

Two ways to read the storm

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.

NEXRAD radar-signature map of the hail storm over Lake Wales, FL on Jul 7, 2026 — 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.

Max size 0.75" Detections 1

Radar-estimated hail-size map of the storm over Lake Wales, FL on Jul 7, 2026 — 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.

Max size 0.5"

The storm in context

Where Jul 7, 2026 sits in Lake Wales's hail record

This was Lake Wales's 16th recorded hail day, arriving 3 days after the Jul 4, 2026 storm. By severity it ranks 18th of the 20 storms we have logged here. Radar put the day's largest stone over Lake Wales at 0.75" — the largest NEXRAD radar signature.

The Jul 7, 2026 convective day was bigger than Lake Wales: the same system put hail over 568 other tracked cities, 48 of them in Florida. Nearest: Indian Lake Estates (3 miles west, up to 0.75"); Avon Park (15 miles southwest, up to 1.5"); Frostproof (17 miles southwest, up to 0.75").

These maps are stills from Lake Wales's Jul 7, 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.

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.

Near the severe threshold

What 0.75" hail means for Lake Wales roofs

Hail this size sits right at the edge of the National Weather Service severe threshold. Newer roofs usually shrug it off, but aging or already-worn shingles can bruise, and soft metals — vents, flashing, gutters — often show the first dents.

What this storm is worth to a roofer

$72K

Potential roof exposure — 6 homes × the ~$12,000 industry-average hail roof claim. Exposure, not confirmed damage.

Claims from this storm can typically be filed until around July 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 Jul 7, 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 6 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