Hail size 1.75"
West Branch Cedar County
“Time estimated by radar. (DVN)”
— NOAA / SPC storm report
/ Storm field report · Johnson
Hail in West Branch · Mar 10, 2026
The estimated-size surface reached 1.5" aloft; NEXRAD logged no point detections over West Branch that day. 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 · radar-estimated size aloft
Homes in the hail footprint 2,462
Ground reports 2 2 hail
Radar surfaces 1 Estimated size only
Convective day · Mar 10, 2026 · noon–noon UTC
Severity
The 2nd most severe storm West Branch has seen in the last 12 months
Composite score · 4.4 / 10
Storm severity score
Overview's storm severity score weighs hailstone size, homes in the footprint, and ground-truth reports.
4.4 /10
- Peak hail signal
- 38 /100
- Homes exposed
- 68 /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 West Branch saw the hail — from two instruments
Mar 10, 2026 · West Branch, IA
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 Surface resolved
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.
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.
The storm in context
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 7 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: Iowa City (8 miles southwest, up to 1.75"); Solon (10 miles northwest, up to 0.5"); West Liberty (11 miles south, up to 1.5").
These maps are stills. In the app this date is one of 7 West Branch 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
2 reports Hail size 1.5"
1 NE Rochester Cedar County
“(DVN)”
— 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 14 minutes, from to .
Reports came from Rochester — beyond West Branch itself.
High damage potential
What 1.5" hail means for West Branch 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.
2,462 homes × $12,000 avg. claim
Potential roof exposure
$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
Close just 0.5% of the 2,462 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
March 2028
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.
Names and phones for every home in the footprint: at most $517 on top of the $150 plan.
West Branch hail history
Other storms in West Branch.
7 recorded storm days in West Branch, IA
Estimated-size surface Storm date West Branch / IA
Aug 11, 2026
0.75" Estimated 0.75"
No ground reports filed Open report →
Estimated-size surface Storm date West Branch / IA
Jul 3, 2026
1.75" Signatures 1.75" Estimated 1.25"
No ground reports filed Open report →
Estimated-size surface Storm date West Branch / IA
Jun 10, 2026
0.5" Estimated 0.5"
No ground reports filed Open report →
Estimated-size surface Storm date West Branch / IA
Apr 15, 2026
0.5" Estimated 0.5"
No ground reports filed Open report →
Estimated-size surface Storm date West Branch / IA
Apr 2, 2026
2.75" Signatures 2.75" Estimated 1.25"
2 ground reports Open report →
Estimated-size surface Storm date West Branch / IA
Mar 30, 2026
1" Signatures 1" Estimated 0.75"
No ground reports filed Open report →
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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 12, 2026.