/ Storm field report · Polk

Hail in Lake Wales · Aug 20, 2026

Hit 23 days ago

NEXRAD logged 0 hail signatures up to 0"; the estimated-size surface reached 0.5" aloft. Open it on the live map to see the swath over the streets.

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Peak hail signal 0.5" ≈ pea to penny · radar-estimated size aloft
Homes in the hail footprint 2,482
Ground reports 0 none filed
Radar surfaces 2 NEXRAD + estimated size

Convective day · Aug 20, 2026 · noon–noon UTC

Severity

The 14th most severe storm Lake Wales has seen in the last 12 months

Composite score · 2.4 / 10
Storm severity score

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

2.4 /10
Peak hail signal
13 /100

Largest radar-indicated size — a signal of damage potential, not confirmation.

Homes exposed
68 /100

How many homes sit inside the storm's footprint.

Ground truth
0 /100

Independent storm reports filed with the NWS.

Evidence / storm surfaces

How Lake Wales saw the hail — from two instruments

Aug 20, 2026 · Lake Wales, FL

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.

NEXRAD radar signatures Surface resolved
NEXRAD radar-signature map of the hail storm over Lake Wales, FL on Aug 20, 2026 Radar signature field

Where NEXRAD flagged hail as the storm passed — point signatures from the radar, which indicate hail overhead rather than confirm what landed.

Max size 0" Detections 0
Radar-estimated hail size Surface resolved
Radar-estimated hail-size map of the storm over Lake Wales, FL on Aug 20, 2026 Estimated size field

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"

The storm in context

Where Aug 20, 2026 sits in Lake Wales's hail record.

This was Lake Wales's 24th recorded hail day, arriving 1 day after the Aug 19, 2026 storm. By severity it ranks 14th of the 28 storms we have logged here. Radar put the day's largest stone over Lake Wales at 0.5" — radar-estimated size aloft.

The Aug 20, 2026 convective day was bigger than Lake Wales: the same system put hail over 640 other tracked cities, 77 of them in Florida. Nearest: Winter Haven (12 miles west, up to 0.5"); Polk City (28 miles northwest, up to 0.75"); Melbourne (44 miles east, 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

No reports filed with the NWS

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.

Below the severe threshold

What 0.5" hail means for Lake Wales roofs.

Radar signals under three-quarters of an inch stay below the National Weather Service severe threshold and generally indicate lower roof risk. Older or already-worn materials can still show effects, but radar alone cannot determine whether a specific roof was damaged.

Radar reading · not confirmed damage

Roofing exposure

What this storm is worth to a roofer.

2,482 homes × $12,000 avg. claim

Potential roof exposure

$30M

Potential roof exposure — 2,482 homes × the ~$12,000 industry-average hail roof claim. Exposure, not confirmed damage.

Illustrative jobs
12 jobs
Illustrative work
~$180K

Close just 0.5% of the 2,482 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

August 2028

Claims from this storm can typically be filed until around August 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 $521 on top of the $150 plan.

Lake Wales hail history

28 recorded storm days in Lake Wales, FL
Radar-estimated hail-size map of the storm over Lake Wales, FL on Sep 5, 2026 Estimated-size surface
Storm date Lake Wales / FL

Sep 5, 2026

0.5"
Estimated 0.5"
No ground reports filed Open report →
Radar-estimated hail-size map of the storm over Lake Wales, FL on Sep 4, 2026 Estimated-size surface
Storm date Lake Wales / FL

Sep 4, 2026

0.5"
Estimated 0.5"
No ground reports filed Open report →
Radar-estimated hail-size map of the storm over Lake Wales, FL on Aug 26, 2026 Estimated-size surface
Storm date Lake Wales / FL

Aug 26, 2026

0.5"
Estimated 0.5"
No ground reports filed Open report →
Radar-estimated hail-size map of the storm over Lake Wales, FL on Aug 21, 2026 Estimated-size surface
Storm date Lake Wales / FL

Aug 21, 2026

0.75"
Estimated 0.75"
No ground reports filed Open report →
Radar-estimated hail-size map of the storm over Lake Wales, FL on Aug 19, 2026 Estimated-size surface
Storm date Lake Wales / FL

Aug 19, 2026

0.5"
Estimated 0.5"
No ground reports filed Open report →
Radar-estimated hail-size map of the storm over Lake Wales, FL on Aug 12, 2026 Estimated-size surface
Storm date Lake Wales / FL

Aug 12, 2026

0.5"
Estimated 0.5"
No ground reports filed Open report →
Radar-estimated hail-size map of the storm over Lake Wales, FL on Aug 5, 2026 Estimated-size surface
Storm date Lake Wales / FL

Aug 5, 2026

0.75"
Estimated 0.75"
No ground reports filed Open report →
Radar-estimated hail-size map of the storm over Lake Wales, FL on Jul 26, 2026 Estimated-size surface
Storm date Lake Wales / FL

Jul 26, 2026

2.5"
Signatures 2.5" Estimated 0.75"
No ground reports filed Open report →
Radar-estimated hail-size map of the storm over Lake Wales, FL on Jul 17, 2026 Estimated-size surface
Storm date Lake Wales / FL

Jul 17, 2026

0.75"
Estimated 0.75"
No ground reports filed Open report →
Radar-estimated hail-size map of the storm over Lake Wales, FL on Jul 16, 2026 Estimated-size surface
Storm date Lake Wales / FL

Jul 16, 2026

0.5"
Estimated 0.5"
No ground reports filed Open report →
Radar-estimated hail-size map of the storm over Lake Wales, FL on Jul 10, 2026 Estimated-size surface
Storm date Lake Wales / FL

Jul 10, 2026

1.5"
Signatures 1.5" Estimated 0.5"
No ground reports filed Open report →
Radar-estimated hail-size map of the storm over Lake Wales, FL on Jul 7, 2026 Estimated-size surface
Storm date Lake Wales / FL

Jul 7, 2026

0.75"
Signatures 0.75" Estimated 0.5"
No ground reports filed Open report →
Radar-estimated hail-size map of the storm over Lake Wales, FL on Jul 4, 2026 Estimated-size surface
Storm date Lake Wales / FL

Jul 4, 2026

1.75"
Signatures 1.75" Estimated 0.5"
No ground reports filed Open report →
Radar-estimated hail-size map of the storm over Lake Wales, FL on Jun 30, 2026 Estimated-size surface
Storm date Lake Wales / FL

Jun 30, 2026

1"
Signatures 1" Estimated 0.5"
No ground reports filed Open report →
Radar-estimated hail-size map of the storm over Lake Wales, FL on Jun 29, 2026 Estimated-size surface
Storm date Lake Wales / FL

Jun 29, 2026

1.25"
Signatures 1.25"
No ground reports filed Open report →
Radar-estimated hail-size map of the storm over Lake Wales, FL on Jun 24, 2026 Estimated-size surface
Storm date Lake Wales / FL

Jun 24, 2026

0.75"
Estimated 0.75"
No ground reports filed Open report →
Radar-estimated hail-size map of the storm over Lake Wales, FL on Jun 23, 2026 Estimated-size surface
Storm date Lake Wales / FL

Jun 23, 2026

1"
Estimated 1"
No ground reports filed Open report →
Radar-estimated hail-size map of the storm over Lake Wales, FL on Jun 22, 2026 Estimated-size surface
Storm date Lake Wales / FL

Jun 22, 2026

2"
Estimated 2"
No ground reports filed Open report →
Radar-estimated hail-size map of the storm over Lake Wales, FL on Jun 21, 2026 Estimated-size surface
Storm date Lake Wales / FL

Jun 21, 2026

0.75"
Estimated 0.75"
No ground reports filed Open report →
Radar-estimated hail-size map of the storm over Lake Wales, FL on Jun 20, 2026 Estimated-size surface
Storm date Lake Wales / FL

Jun 20, 2026

0.5"
Estimated 0.5"
No ground reports filed Open report →
Radar-estimated hail-size map of the storm over Lake Wales, FL on Jun 19, 2026 Estimated-size surface
Storm date Lake Wales / FL

Jun 19, 2026

0.75"
Estimated 0.75"
No ground reports filed Open report →
Radar-estimated hail-size map of the storm over Lake Wales, FL on Jun 12, 2026 Estimated-size surface
Storm date Lake Wales / FL

Jun 12, 2026

0.5"
Estimated 0.5"
No ground reports filed Open report →
Radar-estimated hail-size map of the storm over Lake Wales, FL on May 26, 2026 Estimated-size surface
Storm date Lake Wales / FL

May 26, 2026

0.5"
Estimated 0.5"
No ground reports filed Open report →
Radar-estimated hail-size map of the storm over Lake Wales, FL on May 12, 2026 Estimated-size surface
Storm date Lake Wales / FL

May 12, 2026

2.75"
Signatures 2.75" Estimated 0.75"
No ground reports filed Open report →
Radar-estimated hail-size map of the storm over Lake Wales, FL on Mar 25, 2026 Estimated-size surface
Storm date Lake Wales / FL

Mar 25, 2026

0.75"
Signatures 0.75"
No ground reports filed Open report →
Radar-estimated hail-size map of the storm over Lake Wales, FL on Mar 15, 2026 Estimated-size surface
Storm date Lake Wales / FL

Mar 15, 2026

2"
Signatures 2" Estimated 0.5"
No ground reports filed Open report →
NEXRAD radar-signature map of the hail storm over Lake Wales, FL on Mar 5, 2026 NEXRAD surface
Storm date Lake Wales / FL

Mar 5, 2026

1"
Signatures 1"
No ground reports filed Open report →

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A storm day here is a convective day — it runs from noon to noon UTC, so late-night hail is grouped with the afternoon storm that spawned it rather than split across two calendar dates. Ground reports are public-domain observations from the NOAA Storm Prediction Center. Radar tells you where to look. Only an inspection confirms damage at an address. Last updated Sep 6, 2026.