/ Storm field report · Polk

Hail in Ankeny · Sep 8, 2026

Hit 4 days ago

The estimated-size surface reached 3.5" aloft; NEXRAD logged no point detections over Ankeny that day. At 3.5" — baseball — this is a severe hail signal associated with roof damage. Open it on the live map to see the swath over the streets.

Download on the App Store

7-day free trial in the iPhone app. No card required to start.

For iPhone. Android coming soon.

Open this storm on the live map → Start free trial

Web trial: 7 days free. Card required. $150/month after the trial unless cancelled.

Peak hail signal 3.5" ≈ baseball · radar-estimated size aloft
Homes in the hail footprint 30,530
Ground reports 6 4 hail · 2 wind
Radar surfaces 1 Estimated size only

Convective day · Sep 8, 2026 · noon–noon UTC

Severity

The most severe storm Ankeny has seen in the last 12 months

Composite score · 9.0 / 10
Storm severity score

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

9.0 /10
Peak hail signal
88 /100

Largest radar-indicated size — a signal of damage potential, not confirmation.

Homes exposed
90 /100

How many homes sit inside the storm's footprint.

Ground truth
100 /100

Independent storm reports filed with the NWS.

Evidence / storm surfaces

How Ankeny saw the hail — from two instruments

Sep 8, 2026 · Ankeny, IA

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.

Radar-estimated hail size Surface resolved
Radar-estimated hail-size map of the storm over Ankeny, IA on Sep 8, 2026 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.

Max size 3.5"

Only the radar-estimated size surface resolved for Sep 8, 2026 — this storm produced no NEXRAD point detections over Ankeny, so there is one map to show, not two.

The storm in context

Where Sep 8, 2026 sits in Ankeny's hail record.

This was Ankeny's 7th recorded hail day, arriving 50 days after the Jul 20, 2026 storm. By severity it ranks 1st of the 7 storms we have logged here. Radar put the day's largest stone over Ankeny at 3.5" — radar-estimated size aloft.

The Sep 8, 2026 convective day was bigger than Ankeny: the same system put hail over 62 other tracked cities, 35 of them in Iowa. Nearest: Bondurant (5 miles east, up to 2.75"); Johnston (5 miles west, up to 2.5"); Alleman (7 miles north, up to 2.75").

These maps are stills. In the app this date is one of 7 Ankeny 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

6 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"
4 SE Ankeny Polk County

“Relayed public photo of a hailstone estimated at half dollar sized. Time and location also estimated. (DMX)”

— NOAA / SPC storm report
Hail size 2.25"
Ankeny Polk County

“Report of 2.25 inch hail relayed from broadcast media via email. (DMX)”

— NOAA / SPC storm report
Hail size 1.5"
3 E Ankeny Polk County

“Report from mPING: Ping Pong Ball (1.50 in.). (DMX)”

— NOAA / SPC storm report
Hail size 1.5"
2 E Ankeny Polk County

“Trained spotter reported largest hail around 1.5 inches and minor siding damage. (DMX)”

— NOAA / SPC storm report

Wind reports

2 reports
Wind gust 75 mph
2 NW Ankeny Polk County

“Measured gust from a Personal Weather Station. (DMX)”

— NOAA / SPC storm report
Wind gust 71 mph
3 NE Ankeny Polk County

“Ankeny RWIS site measured a 71 MPH gust. (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 17 minutes, from to .

Severe hail signal

What 3.5" hail means for Ankeny roofs.

Two-inch-plus hail is capable of puncturing shingles, breaking skylights or windows, and heavily denting soft materials. The strongest radar bands warrant prompt inspection, but neither the signal nor the footprint confirms damage at a specific address.

Radar reading · not confirmed damage

Roofing exposure

What this storm is worth to a roofer.

30,530 homes × $12,000 avg. claim

Potential roof exposure

$366M

Potential roof exposure — 30,530 homes × the ~$12,000 industry-average hail roof claim. Exposure, not confirmed damage.

Illustrative jobs
153 jobs
Illustrative work
~$2.3M

Close just 0.5% of the 30,530 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

September 2028

Claims from this storm can typically be filed until around September 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 $6,411 on top of the $150 plan.

Ankeny hail history

Other storms in Ankeny.

7 recorded storm days in Ankeny, IA
← All hail in Ankeny
Radar-estimated hail-size map of the storm over Ankeny, IA on Jul 20, 2026 Estimated-size surface
Storm date Ankeny / IA

Jul 20, 2026

1.75"
Estimated 1.75"
1 ground report Open report →
Radar-estimated hail-size map of the storm over Ankeny, IA on Jun 10, 2026 Estimated-size surface
Storm date Ankeny / IA

Jun 10, 2026

0.75"
Estimated 0.75"
No ground reports filed Open report →
Radar-estimated hail-size map of the storm over Ankeny, IA on May 18, 2026 Estimated-size surface
Storm date Ankeny / IA

May 18, 2026

0.75"
Estimated 0.75"
No ground reports filed Open report →
Radar-estimated hail-size map of the storm over Ankeny, IA on Apr 17, 2026 Estimated-size surface
Storm date Ankeny / IA

Apr 17, 2026

0.5"
Estimated 0.5"
3 ground reports Open report →
Radar-estimated hail-size map of the storm over Ankeny, IA on Apr 15, 2026 Estimated-size surface
Storm date Ankeny / IA

Apr 15, 2026

0.5"
Estimated 0.5"
No ground reports filed Open report →
Radar-estimated hail-size map of the storm over Ankeny, IA on Mar 30, 2026 Estimated-size surface
Storm date Ankeny / IA

Mar 30, 2026

1"
Signatures 1" Estimated 0.75"
2 ground reports Open report →

Take your next area into the field.

See the hail, review your recommendations, and canvass with Overview on iPhone.

Download on the App Store

7-day free trial in the iPhone app. No card required to start.

For iPhone. Android coming soon.

Open this storm on the live map → Start free trial

Web trial: 7 days free. Card required. $150/month after the trial unless cancelled.

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 9, 2026.