Hail size 1.75"
Bedford Taylor County
“Relayed from media. Time estimated from radar. (DMX)”
— NOAA / SPC storm report
Hail in Bedford Apr 3, 2026
Both radar surfaces caught this storm: NEXRAD logged 48 hail signatures up to 2.25", and the radar-estimated size reached 1.25" aloft. At 2.25" — tennis ball — this is severe, roof-replacing hail: close to every roof inside the footprint becomes a claim candidate.
Largest hailstone
2.25"
≈ tennis ball · the largest NEXRAD radar signature Homes in the hail footprint
1,638
Ground reports
2
2 hailThe 4th most severe storm Bedford has seen in the last 12 months
Storm severity score
Overview's storm severity score weighs hailstone size, homes in the footprint, and ground-truth reports.
5.5 /10
- Hail size
- 56 /100
- Homes exposed
- 64 /100
- Ground truth
- 33 /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 Bedford 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.
NEXRAD radar signatures
Where NEXRAD flagged hail as the storm passed — point signatures from the radar, which indicate hail overhead rather than confirm what landed.
Max size
2.25"
Detections
48
Radar-estimated hail size
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
1.25"
Where Apr 3, 2026 sits in Bedford's hail record
This was Bedford's 1st recorded hail day — the first hail day in our records for the city. By severity it ranks 4th of the 12 storms we have logged here. Radar put the day's largest stone over Bedford at 2.25" — the largest NEXRAD radar signature.
The Apr 3, 2026 convective day was bigger than Bedford: the same system put hail over 367 other tracked cities, 36 of them in Iowa. Nearest: Blockton (7 miles south, up to 1"); Clearfield (7 miles north, up to 1"); Diagonal (9 miles northeast, up to 1").
These maps are stills from Bedford's Apr 3, 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.
Hail reports
2 reports Hail size 1.5"
Bedford Taylor County
“Largest hail to ping pong ball. (DMX)”
— NOAA / SPC storm report
What 2.25" hail means for Bedford 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.
What this storm is worth to a roofer
$20M
Potential roof exposure — 1,638 homes × the ~$12,000 industry-average hail roof claim. Exposure, not confirmed damage.
Illustrative jobs
8 jobs
Illustrative work
~$120K
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.
Track hail over Bedford on the live map
Radar updates in real time, spotter reports appear on the map as they're filed, and the full Bedford storm history — this Apr 3, 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
Bedford hail history
← All hail in Bedford 12 recorded storm days in Bedford, IA
Other storms in Bedford
Jul 20, 2026
Jun 13, 2026
1" Estimated 1"
No ground reports filed 
Jun 11, 2026
3" Estimated 3"
No ground reports filed 
Jun 10, 2026
2.25" Estimated 2.25"
1
ground report 
Jun 5, 2026
1" Signatures 1" Estimated 0.75"
No ground reports filed 
Jun 1, 2026
1" Signatures 1" Estimated 0.5"
No ground reports filed 
May 30, 2026
1" Signatures 1" Estimated 0.5"
No ground reports filed 
May 18, 2026
3.25" Signatures 3.25" Estimated 2"
2
ground reports 
May 16, 2026
2.5" Signatures 2.5" Estimated 1.75"
3
ground reports 
Apr 26, 2026
1.75" Signatures 1.75" Estimated 1"
No ground reports filed 
Apr 23, 2026
1" Signatures 1" Estimated 0.5"
No ground reports filed
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 surfaces are detections and estimates,
not confirmed damage. Last updated Aug 3, 2026.