Tornado Rating unknown
1 E Springdale Cedar County
“Rope tornado on the ground near X40 east of West Branch. (DVN)”
— NOAA / SPC storm report
/ Storm field report · Johnson
Hail in West Branch · Apr 2, 2026
NEXRAD logged 9 hail signatures up to 2.75"; the estimated-size surface reached 1.25" aloft. At 2.75" — baseball — this is a severe hail signal associated with roof damage. Open it on the live map to see the swath over the streets.
A tornado was also reported to the National Weather Service during this storm. The ground reports below show where it was filed.
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Peak hail signal 2.75" ≈ baseball · the largest NEXRAD radar signature
Homes in the hail footprint 794
Ground reports 2 1 wind · 1 tornado
Radar surfaces 2 NEXRAD + estimated size
Convective day · Apr 2, 2026 · noon–noon UTC
Severity
The most severe storm West Branch has seen in the last 12 months
Composite score · 6.3 / 10
Storm severity score
Overview's storm severity score weighs hailstone size, homes in the footprint, and ground-truth reports.
6.3 /10
- Peak hail signal
- 69 /100
- Homes exposed
- 58 /100
- Ground truth
- 50 /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
Apr 2, 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.
NEXRAD radar signatures Surface resolved
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.
Max size
2.75"
Detections
9
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
1.25"
The storm in context
Where Apr 2, 2026 sits in West Branch's hail record.
This was West Branch's 3rd recorded hail day, arriving 3 days after the Mar 30, 2026 storm. By severity it ranks 1st of the 7 storms we have logged here. Radar put the day's largest stone over West Branch at 2.75" — the largest NEXRAD radar signature.
The Apr 2, 2026 convective day was bigger than West Branch: the same system put hail over 160 other tracked cities, 46 of them in Iowa. Nearest: Iowa City (8 miles southwest, up to 3"); Tipton (11 miles east, up to 2.5"); West Liberty (11 miles south, up to 1.25").
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.
Tornado reports
1 reportWind reports
1 report Wind gust 58 mph
3 SW Tipton 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 12 minutes, from to .
Reports came from Tipton and Springdale — beyond West Branch itself.
Severe hail signal
What 2.75" hail means for West Branch roofs.
Two-inch-plus hail is capable of puncturing shingles, breaking skylights or windows, and heavily denting soft materials. The strongest radar bands warrant prompt inspection, but neither the signal nor the footprint confirms damage at a specific address.
Radar reading · not confirmed damage
Roofing exposure
What this storm is worth to a roofer.
794 homes × $12,000 avg. claim
Potential roof exposure
$9.5M
Potential roof exposure — 794 homes × the ~$12,000 industry-average hail roof claim. Exposure, not confirmed damage.
- Illustrative jobs
- 4 jobs
- Illustrative work
- ~$60K
Close just 0.5% of the 794 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
April 2028
Claims from this storm can typically be filed until around April 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 $167 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
Mar 30, 2026
1" Signatures 1" Estimated 0.75"
No ground reports filed Open report →
Estimated-size surface Storm date West Branch / IA
Mar 10, 2026
1.5" Estimated 1.5"
2 ground reports 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.