Hail in Council Bluffs · Apr 3, 2026
Convective day · Apr 3, 2026 · noon–noon UTC
Severity
The 10th most severe storm Council Bluffs 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
- 19 /100
- Homes exposed
- 40 /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 Council Bluffs saw the hail — from two instruments
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 signature field The point detections NEXRAD recorded overhead. Each signature marks where the radar saw hail aloft — it is a detection, not a stone measured on the ground.
Only the NEXRAD radar-signature surface resolved for Apr 3, 2026 — the estimated-size swath had no hail signal to model for this storm, so there is one map to show, not two.
The storm in context
Where Apr 3, 2026 sits in Council Bluffs's hail record.
This was Council Bluffs's 2nd recorded hail day, arriving 29 days after the Mar 5, 2026 storm. By severity it ranks 10th of the 12 storms we have logged here. Radar put the day's largest stone over Council Bluffs at 0.75" — the largest NEXRAD radar signature.
The Apr 3, 2026 convective day was bigger than Council Bluffs: the same system put hail over 367 other tracked cities, 36 of them in Iowa. Nearest: Missouri Valley (17 miles northwest, up to 0.75"); Omaha (24 miles west, up to 0.5"); Logan (28 miles north, up to 1.25").
These maps are stills. In the app this date is one of 12 Council Bluffs 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.
Nobody on the ground filed a report over Council Bluffs for this date, which says more about who was watching than about the storm: spotter reports only exist where there is an observer. The radar surfaces above carry the evidence for this one.
Near the severe threshold
What 0.75" hail means for Council Bluffs roofs.
A signal this size sits near the National Weather Service severe threshold. Aging shingles and soft metals such as vents, flashing, and gutters may be more vulnerable; roof age, wind, and material condition all matter, and only an inspection can confirm damage.
Radar reading · not confirmed damage
Roofing exposure
What this storm is worth to a roofer.
Potential roof exposure
$1.2M
Potential roof exposure — 101 homes × the ~$12,000 industry-average hail roof claim. Exposure, not confirmed damage.
- Illustrative jobs
- 1 job
- Illustrative work
- ~$15K
Close just 0.5% of the 101 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 $21 on top of the $150 plan.
Council Bluffs hail history
Other storms in Council Bluffs.
Sep 14, 2026
0.5"
Estimated-size surface Aug 4, 2026
1"
Estimated-size surface Jul 8, 2026
0.5"
Estimated-size surface Jul 3, 2026
1.25"
Estimated-size surface Jun 30, 2026
1"
Estimated-size surface Jun 13, 2026
1.25"
Estimated-size surface May 31, 2026
1.75"
Estimated-size surface May 30, 2026
1"
Estimated-size surface May 17, 2026
1.75"
Estimated-size surface Apr 23, 2026
1.75"
Estimated-size surface Mar 5, 2026
1"The next storm won’t wait for you.
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