Hail in Iowa City Mar 15, 2026
NEXRAD caught this storm: 1 hail signature up to 0.75". The radar-estimated size surface had no signal to model this day.
0.75"
≈ penny to nickel · the largest NEXRAD radar signature42
0
none filedThe 10th most severe storm Iowa City has seen in the last 12 months
Overview's storm severity score weighs hailstone size, homes in the footprint, and ground-truth reports.
- Hail size
- 19 /100
- Homes exposed
- 33 /100
- Ground truth
- 0 /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 Iowa City 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.
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 Mar 15, 2026 — the estimated-size swath had no hail signal to model for this storm, so there is one map to show, not two.
Where Mar 15, 2026 sits in Iowa City's hail record
This was Iowa City's 2nd recorded hail day, arriving 5 days after the Mar 10, 2026 storm. By severity it ranks 10th of the 10 storms we have logged here. Radar put the day's largest stone over Iowa City at 0.75" — the largest NEXRAD radar signature.
The Mar 15, 2026 convective day was bigger than Iowa City: the same system put hail over 695 other tracked cities, 4 of them in Iowa. Nearest: Riverside (15 miles south, up to 1"); Tipton (16 miles east, up to 0.5"); Kalona (17 miles southwest, up to 1").
These maps are stills from Iowa City's Mar 15, 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.
Nobody on the ground filed a report over Iowa City 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.
What 0.75" hail means for Iowa City roofs
Hail this size sits right at the edge of the National Weather Service severe threshold. Newer roofs usually shrug it off, but aging or already-worn shingles can bruise, and soft metals — vents, flashing, gutters — often show the first dents.
$504K
Potential roof exposure — 42 homes × the ~$12,000 industry-average hail roof claim. Exposure, not confirmed damage.Track hail over Iowa City on the live map
Radar updates in real time, spotter reports appear on the map as they're filed, and the full Iowa City storm history — this Mar 15, 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
10 recorded storm days in Iowa City, IA
Other storms in Iowa City
Jul 8, 2026
0.5"
Jul 3, 2026
1.75"
Jun 17, 2026
0.5"
Jun 10, 2026
0.75"
Apr 14, 2026
0.5"
Apr 2, 2026
3"
Mar 31, 2026
1.5"
Mar 30, 2026
1"
Mar 10, 2026
1.75"