Hail in Alden · Oct 8, 2026
The estimated-size surface reached 0.5" aloft; NEXRAD logged no point detections over Alden that day. Open it on the live map to see the swath over the streets.
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Convective day · Oct 8, 2026 · noon–noon UTC
Severity
The 13th most severe storm Alden 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
- 13 /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 Alden 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.
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.
Only the radar-estimated size surface resolved for Oct 8, 2026 — this storm produced no NEXRAD point detections over Alden, so there is one map to show, not two.
The storm in context
Where Oct 8, 2026 sits in Alden's hail record.
This was Alden's 13th recorded hail day, arriving 34 days after the Sep 4, 2026 storm. By severity it ranks 13th of the 14 storms we have logged here. Radar put the day's largest stone over Alden at 0.5" — radar-estimated size aloft.
The Oct 8, 2026 convective day was bigger than Alden: the same system put hail over 86 other tracked cities, 76 of them in Iowa. Nearest: Iowa Falls (5 miles east, up to 0.5"); Ames (32 miles southwest, up to 0.5"); Boone (33 miles southwest, up to 0.5").
These maps are stills. In the app this date is one of 14 Alden 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.
No ground reports were filed with the National Weather Service for this storm over Alden. 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 Alden 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
Estimated-size surface Oct 13, 2026
0.5"
Estimated-size surface Sep 4, 2026
0.75"
Estimated-size surface Aug 7, 2026
0.75"
Estimated-size surface Jul 20, 2026
0.5"
Estimated-size surface Jul 8, 2026
1"
Estimated-size surface Jul 2, 2026
0.5"
Estimated-size surface Jul 1, 2026
1"
NEXRAD surface Jun 28, 2026
0.75"
Estimated-size surface Jun 10, 2026
0.75"
Estimated-size surface May 15, 2026
1.75"
NEXRAD surface Apr 23, 2026
Estimated-size surface Apr 15, 2026
0.5"
NEXRAD surface Apr 3, 2026
0.5"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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