Hail size 1"
1 NE Emerson Mills County
“Chaser live stream of one inch hail. Location is approximate. (OAX)”
— NOAA / SPC storm report
/ Storm field report · Montgomery
Hail in Emerson · May 15, 2026
NEXRAD logged 7 hail signatures up to 3"; the estimated-size surface reached 1.5" aloft. At 3" — baseball — 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 3" ≈ baseball · the largest NEXRAD radar signature
Homes in the hail footprint 1,137
Ground reports 2 1 hail · 1 wind
Radar surfaces 2 NEXRAD + estimated size
Convective day · May 15, 2026 · noon–noon UTC
Severity
The most severe storm Emerson has seen in the last 12 months
Composite score · 6.5 / 10
Storm severity score
Overview's storm severity score weighs hailstone size, homes in the footprint, and ground-truth reports.
6.5 /10
- Peak hail signal
- 75 /100
- Homes exposed
- 61 /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 Emerson saw the hail — from two instruments
May 15, 2026 · Emerson, IA
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 Surface resolved
Radar signature field 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
3"
Detections
7
Radar-estimated hail size Surface resolved
Estimated size field 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
1.5"
The storm in context
Where May 15, 2026 sits in Emerson's hail record.
This was Emerson's 4th recorded hail day, arriving 22 days after the Apr 23, 2026 storm. By severity it ranks 1st of the 15 storms we have logged here. Radar put the day's largest stone over Emerson at 3" — the largest NEXRAD radar signature.
The May 15, 2026 convective day was bigger than Emerson: the same system put hail over 444 other tracked cities, 236 of them in Iowa. Nearest: Elliott (10 miles east, up to 1.25"); Hastings (11 miles west, up to 3"); Red Oak (15 miles south, up to 2.25").
These maps are stills. In the app this date is one of 15 Emerson 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
1 reportWind reports
1 report Wind gust 74 mph
2 W Red Oak Montgomery County
“AWOS station KRDK Red Oak Airport. (OAX)”
— 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 15 minutes, from to .
Reports came from Red Oak — beyond Emerson itself.
Severe hail signal
What 3" hail means for Emerson 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.
1,137 homes × $12,000 avg. claim
Potential roof exposure
$14M
Potential roof exposure — 1,137 homes × the ~$12,000 industry-average hail roof claim. Exposure, not confirmed damage.
- Illustrative jobs
- 6 jobs
- Illustrative work
- ~$90K
Close just 0.5% of the 1,137 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
May 2028
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.
Names and phones for every home in the footprint: at most $239 on top of the $150 plan.
Emerson hail history
Other storms in Emerson.
15 recorded storm days in Emerson, IA
Estimated-size surface Storm date Emerson / IA
Sep 14, 2026
0.5" Estimated 0.5"
No ground reports filed Open report →
Estimated-size surface Storm date Emerson / IA
Aug 8, 2026
0.5" Estimated 0.5"
No ground reports filed Open report →
Estimated-size surface Storm date Emerson / IA
Aug 4, 2026
2" Estimated 2"
No ground reports filed Open report →
Estimated-size surface Storm date Emerson / IA
Jun 30, 2026
1" Signatures 1" Estimated 0.75"
No ground reports filed Open report →
Estimated-size surface Storm date Emerson / IA
Jun 13, 2026
1" Estimated 1"
No ground reports filed Open report →
Estimated-size surface Storm date Emerson / IA
Jun 10, 2026
1.25" Estimated 1.25"
1 ground report Open report →
Estimated-size surface Storm date Emerson / IA
Jun 5, 2026
1.75" Signatures 1.75" Estimated 1"
2 ground reports Open report →
Estimated-size surface Storm date Emerson / IA
May 31, 2026
1.75" Signatures 1.75" Estimated 1"
No ground reports filed Open report →
Estimated-size surface Storm date Emerson / IA
May 18, 2026
1.5" Signatures 1.5" Estimated 0.5"
No ground reports filed Open report →
Estimated-size surface Storm date Emerson / IA
May 17, 2026
1" Signatures 1" Estimated 0.5"
1 ground report Open report →
Estimated-size surface Storm date Emerson / IA
May 16, 2026
2.5" Signatures 2.5" Estimated 2"
No ground reports filed Open report →
Estimated-size surface Storm date Emerson / IA
Apr 23, 2026
2" Signatures 2" Estimated 1"
No ground reports filed Open report →
NEXRAD surface Storm date Emerson / IA
Apr 9, 2026
No ground reports filed Open report →
Estimated-size surface Storm date Emerson / IA
Mar 6, 2026
1" Estimated 1"
1 ground report 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 Sep 15, 2026.