/ Storm field report · Story

Hail in Ames · Apr 15, 2026

The estimated-size surface reached 1" aloft; NEXRAD logged no point detections over Ames that day. Open it on the live map to see the swath over the streets.

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Peak hail signal 1" ≈ quarter · radar-estimated size aloft

Homes in the hail footprint 1,668

Ground reports 4 4 hail

Radar surfaces 1 Estimated size only

Convective day · Apr 15, 2026 · noon–noon UTC

Severity

The 4th most severe storm Ames has seen in the last 12 months

Composite score · 4.1 / 10

Storm severity score

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

4.1 /10

Peak hail signal: 25 /100
Homes exposed: 64 /100
Ground truth: 67 /100

Evidence / storm surfaces

How Ames saw the hail — from two instruments

Apr 15, 2026 · Ames, 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.

Radar-estimated hail-size map of the storm over Ames, IA on Apr 15, 2026 — 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 1"

Only the radar-estimated size surface resolved for Apr 15, 2026 — this storm produced no NEXRAD point detections over Ames, so there is one map to show, not two.

The storm in context

Where Apr 15, 2026 sits in Ames's hail record.

This was Ames's 2nd recorded hail day, arriving 41 days after the Mar 5, 2026 storm. By severity it ranks 4th of the 10 storms we have logged here. Radar put the day's largest stone over Ames at 1" — radar-estimated size aloft.

The Apr 15, 2026 convective day was bigger than Ames: the same system put hail over 425 other tracked cities, 127 of them in Iowa. Nearest: Nevada (10 miles east, up to 0.75"); Huxley (11 miles south, up to 1"); Story City (11 miles north, up to 0.75").

These maps are stills. In the app this date is one of 10 Ames 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

4 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.

Hail reports

4 reports

Hail size 1.25"

3 N Ames Story County

1:21 AM UTC

“Nickel to half dollar size. (DMX)”
— NOAA / SPC storm report

Hail size 1.5"

2 SE Gilbert Story County

1:23 AM UTC

“Reported by General Public. (DMX)”
— NOAA / SPC storm report

Hail size 1"

1 S Gilbert Story County

1:24 AM UTC

“Relayed by EM. (DMX)”
— NOAA / SPC storm report

Hail size 1"

6 NE Ames Story County

1:36 AM UTC

“Relayed from Spotter Network. (DMX)”
— NOAA / SPC storm report

Storm 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.

Hail was reported over 15 minutes, from 1:21 AM UTC to 1:36 AM UTC .

Reports came from Gilbert — beyond Ames itself.

Damage-capable hail signal

What 1" hail means for Ames 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.

1,668 homes × $12,000 avg. claim

Potential roof exposure

$20M

Potential roof exposure — 1,668 homes × the ~$12,000 industry-average hail roof claim. Exposure, not confirmed damage.

Illustrative jobs: 8 jobs
Illustrative work: ~$120K

Close just 0.5% of the 1,668 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

April 2028

Claims from this storm can typically be filed until around April 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 $350 on top of the $150 plan.

Ames hail history

10 recorded storm days in Ames, IA

← All hail in Ames

Radar-estimated hail-size map of the storm over Ames, IA on Jul 20, 2026

Estimated-size surface

Storm date Ames / IA

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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 Aug 3, 2026.

The 4th most severe storm Ames has seen in the last 12 months

How Ames saw the hail — from two instruments

Where Apr 15, 2026 sits in Ames's hail record.

What people on the ground reported

Hail reports

How the storm moved

What 1" hail means for Ames roofs.

What this storm is worth to a roofer.

Other storms in Ames.

Jul 20, 2026

Jul 3, 2026

Jul 2, 2026

Jun 28, 2026

Jun 16, 2026

Jun 11, 2026

Jun 10, 2026

Apr 23, 2026

Mar 5, 2026

The next storm won’t wait for you.