Hail size 3.5"
Elma Howard County
“(ARX)”
— NOAA / SPC storm report
/ Storm field report · Howard
Hail in Elma · Apr 14, 2026
The estimated-size surface reached 2" aloft; NEXRAD logged no point detections over Elma that day. At 2" — tennis ball — this is a severe hail signal associated with roof damage. Open it on the live map to see the swath over the streets.
7-day free trial in the iPhone app. No card required to start.
For iPhone. Android coming soon.
Web trial: 7 days free. Card required. $150/month after the trial unless cancelled.
Peak hail signal 2" ≈ tennis ball · radar-estimated size aloft
Homes in the hail footprint 1,671
Ground reports 2 2 hail
Radar surfaces 1 Estimated size only
Convective day · Apr 14, 2026 · noon–noon UTC
Severity
The 2nd most severe storm Elma has seen in the last 12 months
Composite score · 5.1 / 10
Storm severity score
Overview's storm severity score weighs hailstone size, homes in the footprint, and ground-truth reports.
5.1 /10
- Peak hail signal
- 50 /100
- Homes exposed
- 64 /100
- Ground truth
- 33 /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 Elma saw the hail — from two instruments
Apr 14, 2026 · Elma, IA
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-estimated hail size Surface resolved
Estimated size field Radar-estimated hail size over the swath. The model reports the biggest stone the storm could sustain in the air; what actually fell may have been smaller.
Max size
2"
Only the radar-estimated size surface resolved for Apr 14, 2026 — this storm produced no NEXRAD point detections over Elma, so there is one map to show, not two.
The storm in context
Where Apr 14, 2026 sits in Elma's hail record.
This was Elma's 1st recorded hail day — the first hail day in our records for the city. By severity it ranks 2nd of the 7 storms we have logged here. Radar put the day's largest stone over Elma at 2" — radar-estimated size aloft.
The Apr 14, 2026 convective day was bigger than Elma: the same system put hail over 476 other tracked cities, 143 of them in Iowa. Nearest: Alta Vista (10 miles southwest, up to 1.75"); Cresco (12 miles northeast, up to 1"); Lime Springs (14 miles north, up to 2").
These maps are stills. In the app this date is one of 7 Elma 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
2 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
2 reports Hail size 2.75"
Elma Howard County
“(ARX)”
— 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 13 minutes, from to .
Severe hail signal
What 2" hail means for Elma 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.
1,671 homes × $12,000 avg. claim
Potential roof exposure
$20M
Potential roof exposure — 1,671 homes × the ~$12,000 industry-average hail roof claim. Exposure, not confirmed damage.
- Illustrative jobs
- 8 jobs
- Illustrative work
- ~$120K
Close just 0.5% of the 1,671 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 $351 on top of the $150 plan.
Estimated-size surface Storm date Elma / IA
Jul 8, 2026
1.5" Signatures 1.5" Estimated 1"
No ground reports filed Open report →
Estimated-size surface Storm date Elma / IA
Jul 2, 2026
1.75" Signatures 1.75" Estimated 0.75"
No ground reports filed Open report →
Estimated-size surface Storm date Elma / IA
Jul 1, 2026
1.25" Signatures 1.25" Estimated 0.5"
No ground reports filed Open report →
Estimated-size surface Storm date Elma / IA
Apr 27, 2026
2.5" Signatures 2.5" Estimated 1"
1 ground report Open report →
NEXRAD surface Storm date Elma / IA
Apr 23, 2026
1" Signatures 1"
No ground reports filed Open report →
Estimated-size surface Storm date Elma / IA
Apr 17, 2026
0.75" Signatures 0.75" Estimated 0.5"
No ground reports filed Open report →
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.
7-day free trial in the iPhone app. No card required to start.
For iPhone. Android coming soon.
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 Aug 3, 2026.