Hail in Alta Vista Apr 27, 2026
Both radar surfaces caught this storm: NEXRAD logged 6 hail signatures up to 2.25", and the radar-estimated size reached 0.75" aloft. At 2.25" — tennis ball — this is severe, roof-replacing hail: close to every roof inside the footprint becomes a claim candidate.
2.25"
≈ tennis ball · the largest NEXRAD radar signature173
0
none filedThe 2nd most severe storm Alta Vista has seen in the last 12 months
Overview's storm severity score weighs hailstone size, homes in the footprint, and ground-truth reports.
- Hail size
- 56 /100
- Homes exposed
- 45 /100
- Ground truth
- 0 /100
Largest hailstone — the top predictor of roof damage.
How many homes sit inside the storm's footprint.
Independent storm reports filed with the NWS.
How Alta Vista 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'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.
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.
Where Apr 27, 2026 sits in Alta Vista's hail record
This was Alta Vista's 2nd recorded hail day, arriving 13 days after the Apr 14, 2026 storm. By severity it ranks 2nd of the 4 storms we have logged here. Radar put the day's largest stone over Alta Vista at 2.25" — the largest NEXRAD radar signature.
The Apr 27, 2026 convective day was bigger than Alta Vista: the same system put hail over 1,188 other tracked cities, 16 of them in Iowa. Nearest: Elma (9 miles northeast, up to 2.5"); Cresco (12 miles northeast, up to 1.75"); Ridgeway (21 miles east, up to 1").
These maps are stills from Alta Vista's Apr 27, 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.
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.
Nobody on the ground filed a report over Alta Vista for this date, which says more about who was watching than about the storm: spotter reports only exist where there is an observer. The radar surfaces above carry the evidence for this one.
What 2.25" hail means for Alta Vista roofs
Two-inch-plus hail punctures shingles, breaks skylights and windows, and dents anything soft. In the core of a footprint like this, close to every roof is a candidate for an insurance claim. Speed decides who writes those jobs.
$2.1M
Potential roof exposure — 173 homes × the ~$12,000 industry-average hail roof claim. Exposure, not confirmed damage.Track hail over Alta Vista on the live map
Radar updates in real time, spotter reports appear on the map as they're filed, and the full Alta Vista storm history — this Apr 27, 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.
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
4 recorded storm days in Alta Vista, IA
