Hail in Altoona Jul 20, 2026
Hit 14 days agoThe radar-estimated size surface caught this storm, reaching 1.5" aloft. NEXRAD logged no point detections over Altoona this day.
1.5"
≈ ping-pong ball · radar-estimated size aloft29,176
0
none filedThe most severe storm Altoona 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
- 38 /100
- Homes exposed
- 89 /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 Altoona saw the hail — from two instruments
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.
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.
Only the radar-estimated size surface resolved for Jul 20, 2026 — this storm produced no NEXRAD point detections over Altoona, so there is one map to show, not two.
Where Jul 20, 2026 sits in Altoona's hail record
This was Altoona's 2nd recorded hail day, arriving 17 days after the Jul 3, 2026 storm. By severity it ranks 1st of the 2 storms we have logged here. Radar put the day's largest stone over Altoona at 1.5" — radar-estimated size aloft.
The Jul 20, 2026 convective day was bigger than Altoona: the same system put hail over 553 other tracked cities, 178 of them in Iowa. Nearest: Pleasant Hill (0 miles north, up to 1.5"); Bondurant (7 miles north, up to 1.5"); Runnells (8 miles southeast, up to 1.25").
These maps are stills from Altoona's Jul 20, 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 Altoona 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 1.5" hail means for Altoona roofs
At an inch and a half, hail cracks shingles, strips granules down to the mat, and dents gutters, vents, and siding. A footprint like this typically produces a wave of insurance claims — and the contractor who reaches the homeowner first usually gets the inspection.
$350M
Potential roof exposure — 29,176 homes × the ~$12,000 industry-average hail roof claim. Exposure, not confirmed damage.Track hail over Altoona on the live map
Radar updates in real time, spotter reports appear on the map as they're filed, and the full Altoona storm history — this Jul 20, 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
2 recorded storm days in Altoona, IA
