Tornado Rating unknown
5 WNW Athelstan Taylor County
“Trained spotter confirms tornado. Time estimated via radar. (DMX)”
— NOAA / SPC storm report
Hail in Blockton May 18, 2026
Both radar surfaces caught this storm: NEXRAD logged 6 hail signatures up to 1.75", and the radar-estimated size reached 1.25" aloft.
A tornado was also reported to the National Weather Service during this storm — see the ground reports below.
Largest hailstone
1.75"
≈ golf ball · the largest NEXRAD radar signature Homes in the hail footprint
55
Ground reports
2
2 tornadoThe 3rd most severe storm Blockton 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.
4.5 /10
- Hail size
- 44 /100
- Homes exposed
- 35 /100
- Ground truth
- 67 /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 Blockton saw the hail — from two instruments
We map this storm two ways: the NEXRAD radar signatures the storm produced overhead, and the radar-estimated size of the hail in the air. The two surfaces don’t have to match — where they diverge is where estimated size aloft ran ahead of, or behind, what the signatures caught.
NEXRAD radar signatures
NEXRAD radar signatures — the point detections the storm produced overhead. A signature is where the radar saw hail, not a confirmed stone on the ground.
Max size
1.75"
Detections
6
Radar-estimated hail size
Maximum hail size as estimated from radar aloft. Treat it as the storm's ceiling — the largest supportable stone — rather than a ground measurement.
Max size
1.25"
Where May 18, 2026 sits in Blockton's hail record
This was Blockton's 6th recorded hail day, arriving 1 day after the May 17, 2026 storm. By severity it ranks 3rd of the 10 storms we have logged here. Radar put the day's largest stone over Blockton at 1.75" — the largest NEXRAD radar signature.
The May 18, 2026 convective day was bigger than Blockton: the same system put hail over 726 other tracked cities, 102 of them in Iowa. Nearest: Bedford (7 miles north, up to 3.25"); Benton (9 miles northeast, up to 1.75"); Sheridan (10 miles southwest, up to 2.25").
These maps are stills from Blockton's May 18, 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.
Tornado reports
2 reports Tornado Rating unknown
5 WNW Athelstan Taylor County
“Trained spotter confirms tornado. Time estimated via radar. (DMX)”
— NOAA / SPC storm report
Storm forensics
Read from the arrival times and locations of the NOAA ground reports,
not a radar-measured storm track.
How the storm moved
Hail was reported over 10 minutes, from to .
Reports came from Athelstan — beyond Blockton itself.
What 1.75" hail means for Blockton 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.
What this storm is worth to a roofer
$660K
Potential roof exposure — 55 homes × the ~$12,000 industry-average hail roof claim. Exposure, not confirmed damage. Claims from this storm can typically be filed until around May 2028 — the window to reach these homeowners while it's still open. Deadlines vary by policy and state.
Track hail over Blockton on the live map
Radar updates in real time, spotter reports appear on the map as they're filed, and the full Blockton storm history — this May 18, 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
Blockton hail history
← All hail in Blockton 10 recorded storm days in Blockton, IA
Other storms in Blockton
Jun 13, 2026
0.5" Estimated 0.5"
No ground reports filed 
Jun 11, 2026
3" Estimated 3"
No ground reports filed 
Jun 10, 2026
1.25" Estimated 1.25"
No ground reports filed 
Jun 1, 2026
1" Signatures 1" Estimated 0.5"
No ground reports filed 
May 17, 2026
1.25" Signatures 1.25"
No ground reports filed 
May 16, 2026
2.5" Signatures 2.5" Estimated 1.75"
No ground reports filed 
Apr 26, 2026
Apr 23, 2026
1" Signatures 1" Estimated 0.5"
No ground reports filed 
Apr 3, 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 2, 2026.