Hail size 1"
Chatsworth Sioux County
“(FSD)”
— NOAA / SPC storm report
/ Storm field report · Plymouth
Hail in Akron · May 18, 2026
NEXRAD logged 4 hail signatures up to 1"; 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 1" ≈ quarter · the largest NEXRAD radar signature
Homes in the hail footprint 51
Ground reports 1 1 hail
Radar surfaces 2 NEXRAD + estimated size
Convective day · May 18, 2026 · noon–noon UTC
Severity
The 6th most severe storm Akron has seen in the last 12 months
Composite score · 2.6 / 10
Storm severity score
Overview's storm severity score weighs hailstone size, homes in the footprint, and ground-truth reports.
2.6 /10
- Peak hail signal
- 25 /100
- Homes exposed
- 34 /100
- Ground truth
- 17 /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 Akron saw the hail — from two instruments
May 18, 2026 · Akron, IA
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.
NEXRAD radar signatures Surface resolved
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.
Max size
1"
Detections
4
Radar-estimated hail size Surface resolved
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.
Max size
0.5"
The storm in context
Where May 18, 2026 sits in Akron's hail record.
This was Akron's 2nd recorded hail day, arriving 1 day after the May 17, 2026 storm. By severity it ranks 6th of the 7 storms we have logged here. Radar put the day's largest stone over Akron at 1" — the largest NEXRAD radar signature.
The May 18, 2026 convective day was bigger than Akron: the same system put hail over 726 other tracked cities, 102 of them in Iowa. Nearest: Elk Point (11 miles west, up to 1.25"); Ireton (13 miles northeast, up to 0.75"); Hawarden (21 miles north, up to 1.75").
These maps are stills. In the app this date is one of 7 Akron 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
1 report 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.
Hail reports
1 reportStorm forensics
How the storm moved
Timing and place names from NOAA ground reports
Read from the arrival times and locations of the NOAA ground reports, not a radar-measured storm track.
Reports came from Chatsworth — beyond Akron itself.
Damage-capable hail signal
What 1" hail means for Akron roofs.
Quarter-size and larger hail can bruise asphalt mats, remove granules, and dent exposed soft metal. The mapped footprint identifies an inspection priority area — it does not identify which individual roofs, if any, sustained damage.
Radar reading · not confirmed damage
Roofing exposure
What this storm is worth to a roofer.
51 homes × $12,000 avg. claim
Potential roof exposure
$612K
Potential roof exposure — 51 homes × the ~$12,000 industry-average hail roof claim. Exposure, not confirmed damage.
Claim window
May 2028
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.
Names and phones for every home in the footprint: at most $11 on top of the $150 plan.
Estimated-size surface Storm date Akron / IA
Sep 11, 2026
1" Estimated 1"
No ground reports filed Open report →
Estimated-size surface Storm date Akron / IA
Sep 1, 2026
1" Estimated 1"
1 ground report Open report →
Estimated-size surface Storm date Akron / IA
Jun 30, 2026
1" Signatures 1" Estimated 0.5"
No ground reports filed Open report →
Estimated-size surface Storm date Akron / IA
Jun 29, 2026
1" Signatures 1" Estimated 0.75"
No ground reports filed Open report →
Estimated-size surface Storm date Akron / IA
May 31, 2026
1.25" Signatures 1" Estimated 1.25"
No ground reports filed Open report →
Estimated-size surface Storm date Akron / IA
May 17, 2026
3.75" Signatures 3.75" Estimated 2.5"
No ground reports filed Open report →
The next storm won’t wait for you.
Set your territory and alerts today. When hail hits, use Overview to choose your streets and get moving.
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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 12, 2026.