Hail in Buffalo Center · Apr 23, 2026
NEXRAD logged 28 hail signatures up to 1"; the estimated-size surface reached 0.5" aloft. Open it on the live map to see the swath over the streets.
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Convective day · Apr 23, 2026 · noon–noon UTC
Severity
The 6th most severe storm Buffalo Center has seen in the last 12 months
Overview's storm severity score weighs hailstone size, homes in the footprint, and ground-truth reports.
- Peak hail signal
- 25 /100
- Homes exposed
- 57 /100
- Ground truth
- 0 /100
Largest radar-indicated size — a signal of damage potential, not confirmation.
How many homes sit inside the storm's footprint.
Independent storm reports filed with the NWS.
Evidence / storm surfaces
How Buffalo Center 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.
Radar signature field Where NEXRAD flagged hail as the storm passed — point signatures from the radar, which indicate hail overhead rather than confirm what landed.
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.
The storm in context
Where Apr 23, 2026 sits in Buffalo Center's hail record.
This was Buffalo Center's 3rd recorded hail day, arriving 10 days after the Apr 13, 2026 storm. By severity it ranks 6th of the 9 storms we have logged here. Radar put the day's largest stone over Buffalo Center at 1" — the largest NEXRAD radar signature.
The Apr 23, 2026 convective day was bigger than Buffalo Center: the same system put hail over 703 other tracked cities, 252 of them in Iowa. Nearest: Bancroft (10 miles west, up to 1.25"); Wesley (10 miles south, up to 0.75"); Elmore (14 miles north, up to 1").
These maps are stills. In the app this date is one of 9 Buffalo Center 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
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.
The National Weather Service logged no spotter reports for this storm over Buffalo Center. That absence is ordinary — filing a report takes a person on the spot who saw the hail and phoned it in. What stands as the record for this date is the radar above, which caught the storm regardless.
Damage-capable hail signal
What 1" hail means for Buffalo Center 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.
Potential roof exposure
$8.4M
Potential roof exposure — 697 homes × the ~$12,000 industry-average hail roof claim. Exposure, not confirmed damage.
- Illustrative jobs
- 3 jobs
- Illustrative work
- ~$45K
Close just 0.5% of the 697 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 $146 on top of the $150 plan.
Buffalo Center hail history
Other storms in Buffalo Center.
Estimated-size surface Sep 1, 2026
0.5"
Estimated-size surface Jul 2, 2026
1.75"
Estimated-size surface Jul 1, 2026
0.75"
Estimated-size surface Jun 30, 2026
1.75"
Estimated-size surface Jun 29, 2026
1.75"
Estimated-size surface May 15, 2026
1"
Estimated-size surface Apr 13, 2026
1"
Estimated-size surface Apr 11, 2026
1.75"The next storm won’t wait for you.
Set your territory and alerts today. When hail hits, use Overview to choose your streets and get moving.
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For iPhone. Android coming soon.
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