Hail in Van Meter · May 18, 2026
NEXRAD logged 0 hail signatures up to 0"; the estimated-size surface reached 0.5" aloft. 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.
Convective day · May 18, 2026 · noon–noon UTC
Severity
The 8th most severe storm Van Meter 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
- 13 /100
- Homes exposed
- 64 /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 Van Meter saw the hail — from two instruments
The maps here read the same storm from two angles — point detections from NEXRAD, and modeled hail size aloft. Where the two disagree is informative: it marks where estimated size outran the signatures, or trailed them.
Radar signature field Where NEXRAD flagged hail as the storm passed — point signatures from the radar, which indicate hail overhead rather than confirm what landed.
Estimated size field The modeled maximum hail size across the swath, derived from radar aloft — the largest stone the storm could have supported, which is not necessarily what reached the ground.
The storm in context
Where May 18, 2026 sits in Van Meter's hail record.
This was Van Meter's 5th recorded hail day, arriving 3 days after the May 15, 2026 storm. By severity it ranks 8th of the 11 storms we have logged here. Radar put the day's largest stone over Van Meter at 0.5" — radar-estimated size aloft.
The May 18, 2026 convective day was bigger than Van Meter: the same system put hail over 726 other tracked cities, 102 of them in Iowa. Nearest: Cumming (5 miles east, up to 0.75"); West Des Moines (9 miles northeast, up to 0.75"); Winterset (10 miles southwest, up to 1.25").
These maps are stills. In the app this date is one of 11 Van Meter 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.
No ground reports were filed with the National Weather Service for this storm over Van Meter. That is common: a report depends on someone being there to see it and take the time to call it in. The radar surfaces above are the record here — the storm was detected from above even though no one on the ground logged it.
Below the severe threshold
What 0.5" hail means for Van Meter roofs.
Radar signals under three-quarters of an inch stay below the National Weather Service severe threshold and generally indicate lower roof risk. Older or already-worn materials can still show effects, but radar alone cannot determine whether a specific roof was damaged.
Radar reading · not confirmed damage
Roofing exposure
What this storm is worth to a roofer.
Potential roof exposure
$18M
Potential roof exposure — 1,538 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 1,538 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 $323 on top of the $150 plan.
Van Meter hail history
Other storms in Van Meter.
Estimated-size surface Aug 13, 2026
0.5"
Estimated-size surface Jul 27, 2026
0.75"
Estimated-size surface Jul 20, 2026
1.75"
Estimated-size surface Jul 3, 2026
1"
Estimated-size surface Jun 11, 2026
0.5"
Estimated-size surface Jun 10, 2026
0.75"
Estimated-size surface May 15, 2026
1"
Estimated-size surface Apr 23, 2026
1"
Estimated-size surface Apr 17, 2026
1.5"
Estimated-size surface Apr 14, 2026
0.75"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.