Hail size 1.75"
West Branch Cedar County
“Time estimated by radar. (DVN)”
— NOAA / SPC storm report
Hail in West Branch Mar 10, 2026
The radar-estimated size surface caught this storm, reaching 1.5" aloft. NEXRAD logged no point detections over West Branch this day.
Largest hailstone
1.5"
≈ ping-pong ball · radar-estimated size aloft Homes in the hail footprint
2,462
Ground reports
2
2 hailThe 2nd most severe storm West Branch has seen in the last 12 months
Storm severity score
Overview's storm severity score weighs hailstone size, homes in the footprint, and ground-truth reports.
4.4 /10
- Hail size
- 38 /100
- Homes exposed
- 68 /100
- Ground truth
- 33 /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 West Branch 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-estimated hail size
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.
Max size
1.5"
Only the radar-estimated size surface resolved for Mar 10, 2026 — this storm produced no NEXRAD point detections over West Branch, so there is one map to show, not two.
Where Mar 10, 2026 sits in West Branch's hail record
This was West Branch's 1st recorded hail day — the first hail day in our records for the city. By severity it ranks 2nd of the 6 storms we have logged here. Radar put the day's largest stone over West Branch at 1.5" — radar-estimated size aloft.
The Mar 10, 2026 convective day was bigger than West Branch: the same system put hail over 470 other tracked cities, 47 of them in Iowa. Nearest: Tipton (6 miles northeast, up to 1.25"); Iowa City (10 miles west, up to 1.75"); Solon (10 miles northwest, up to 0.5").
These maps are stills from West Branch's Mar 10, 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.
Hail reports
2 reports Hail size 1.5"
1 NE Rochester Cedar County
“(DVN)”
— NOAA / SPC storm report
Storm forensics
Read from the arrival times and locations of the NOAA ground reports,
not a radar-measured storm track.
How the storm moved
Hail was reported over 14 minutes, from to .
Reports came from Rochester — beyond West Branch itself.
What 1.5" hail means for West Branch roofs
At an inch and a half, hail cracks shingles, strips granules down to the mat, and dents gutters, vents, and siding. A footprint like this typically produces a wave of insurance claims — and the contractor who reaches the homeowner first usually gets the inspection.
What this storm is worth to a roofer
$30M
Potential roof exposure — 2,462 homes × the ~$12,000 industry-average hail roof claim. Exposure, not confirmed damage.
Illustrative jobs
12 jobs
Illustrative work
~$180K
Claims from this storm can typically be filed until around March 2028 — the window to reach these homeowners while it's still open. Deadlines vary by policy and state.
Track hail over West Branch on the live map
Radar updates in real time, spotter reports appear on the map as they're filed, and the full West Branch storm history — this Mar 10, 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
West Branch hail history
← All hail in West Branch 6 recorded storm days in West Branch, IA
Other storms in West Branch
Jul 3, 2026
1.75" Signatures 1.75" Estimated 1.25"
No ground reports filed 
Jun 10, 2026
0.5" Estimated 0.5"
No ground reports filed 
Apr 15, 2026
0.5" Estimated 0.5"
No ground reports filed 
Apr 2, 2026
2.75" Signatures 2.75" Estimated 1.25"
2
ground reports 
Mar 30, 2026
1" Signatures 1" Estimated 0.75"
No ground reports filed
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 surfaces are detections and estimates,
not confirmed damage. Last updated Aug 3, 2026.