/ Storm field report · Pocahontas

Hail in Palmer · Jul 8, 2026

NEXRAD logged 23 hail signatures up to 1.5"; the estimated-size surface reached 0.75" aloft. Open it on the live map to see the swath over the streets.

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Peak hail signal 1.5" ≈ ping-pong ball · the largest NEXRAD radar signature
Homes in the hail footprint 339
Ground reports 0 none filed
Radar surfaces 2 NEXRAD + estimated size

Convective day · Jul 8, 2026 · noon–noon UTC

Severity

The most severe storm Palmer has seen in the last 12 months

Composite score · 3.5 / 10
Storm severity score

Overview's storm severity score weighs hailstone size, homes in the footprint, and ground-truth reports.

3.5 /10
Peak hail signal
38 /100

Largest radar-indicated size — a signal of damage potential, not confirmation.

Homes exposed
51 /100

How many homes sit inside the storm's footprint.

Ground truth
0 /100

Independent storm reports filed with the NWS.

Evidence / storm surfaces

How Palmer saw the hail — from two instruments

Jul 8, 2026 · Palmer, 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
NEXRAD radar-signature map of the hail storm over Palmer, IA on Jul 8, 2026 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 1.5" Detections 23
Radar-estimated hail size Surface resolved
Radar-estimated hail-size map of the storm over Palmer, IA on Jul 8, 2026 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 0.75"

The storm in context

Where Jul 8, 2026 sits in Palmer's hail record.

This was Palmer's 4th recorded hail day, arriving 11 days after the Jun 27, 2026 storm. By severity it ranks 1st of the 6 storms we have logged here. Radar put the day's largest stone over Palmer at 1.5" — the largest NEXRAD radar signature.

The Jul 8, 2026 convective day was bigger than Palmer: the same system put hail over 908 other tracked cities, 105 of them in Iowa. Nearest: Manson (5 miles east, up to 1.25"); Jolley (9 miles southwest, up to 1"); Pocahontas (12 miles northwest, up to 1.5").

These maps are stills. In the app this date is one of 6 Palmer 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

No 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.

For this storm over Palmer, the NWS report log is empty — a common outcome, since ground reports only happen when someone witnesses the hail and takes the time to call it in. The detection record for the date lives in the radar maps above.

High damage potential

What 1.5" hail means for Palmer roofs.

Hail around an inch and a half is capable of cracking shingles, stripping granules, and denting gutters, vents, and siding. Risk is usually greatest near the strongest radar signal, but property-level damage still requires an on-site inspection.

Radar reading · not confirmed damage

Roofing exposure

What this storm is worth to a roofer.

339 homes × $12,000 avg. claim

Potential roof exposure

$4.1M

Potential roof exposure — 339 homes × the ~$12,000 industry-average hail roof claim. Exposure, not confirmed damage.

Illustrative jobs
2 jobs
Illustrative work
~$30K

Close just 0.5% of the 339 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

July 2028

Claims from this storm can typically be filed until around July 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 $71 on top of the $150 plan.

Palmer hail history

6 recorded storm days in Palmer, IA

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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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 11, 2026.