Hail in West Des Moines Jul 3, 2026
Hit 31 days agoBoth radar surfaces caught this storm: NEXRAD logged 0 hail signatures up to 1", and the radar-estimated size reached 1" aloft.
1"
≈ quarter · radar-estimated size aloft7,924
0
none filedThe 4th most severe storm West Des Moines has seen in the last 12 months
Overview's storm severity score weighs hailstone size, homes in the footprint, and ground-truth reports.
- Hail size
- 25 /100
- Homes exposed
- 78 /100
- Ground truth
- 0 /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 Des Moines saw the hail — from two instruments
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 — the point detections the storm produced overhead. A signature is where the radar saw hail, not a confirmed stone on the ground.
Maximum hail size as estimated from radar aloft. Treat it as the storm's ceiling — the largest supportable stone — rather than a ground measurement.
Where Jul 3, 2026 sits in West Des Moines's hail record
This was West Des Moines's 7th recorded hail day, arriving 1 day after the Jul 2, 2026 storm. By severity it ranks 4th of the 8 storms we have logged here. Radar put the day's largest stone over West Des Moines at 1" — radar-estimated size aloft.
The Jul 3, 2026 convective day was bigger than West Des Moines: the same system put hail over 1,885 other tracked cities, 182 of them in Iowa. Nearest: Des Moines (5 miles east, up to 1"); Grimes (7 miles north, up to 1.5"); Cumming (7 miles south, up to 1").
These maps are stills from West Des Moines's Jul 3, 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.
The National Weather Service logged no spotter reports for this storm over West Des Moines. That absence is ordinary — filing a report takes a person on the spot who saw the hail and phoned it in. What stands as the record for this date is the radar above, which caught the storm regardless.
What 1" hail means for West Des Moines roofs
Quarter-size and larger hail is where asphalt shingle damage starts in earnest: bruised mats and granule loss that homeowners can't see from the ground. Most people inside the footprint won't know their roof was hit until someone inspects it.
$95M
Potential roof exposure — 7,924 homes × the ~$12,000 industry-average hail roof claim. Exposure, not confirmed damage.Track hail over West Des Moines on the live map
Radar updates in real time, spotter reports appear on the map as they're filed, and the full West Des Moines storm history — this Jul 3, 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
8 recorded storm days in West Des Moines, IA
Other storms in West Des Moines
Jul 20, 2026
1.25"
Jul 2, 2026
1.75"
Jun 11, 2026
0.75"
May 18, 2026
0.75"
Apr 23, 2026
1"
Apr 15, 2026
0.5"
Mar 30, 2026
1.75"