Hail in West Des Moines · Sep 8, 2026
The estimated-size surface reached 1" aloft; NEXRAD logged no point detections over West Des Moines that day. Open it on the live map to see the swath over the streets.
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Convective day · Sep 8, 2026 · noon–noon UTC
Severity
The 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.
- Peak hail signal
- 25 /100
- Homes exposed
- 89 /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 West Des Moines 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.
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.
Only the radar-estimated size surface resolved for Sep 8, 2026 — this storm produced no NEXRAD point detections over West Des Moines, so there is one map to show, not two.
The storm in context
Where Sep 8, 2026 sits in West Des Moines's hail record.
This was West Des Moines's 9th recorded hail day, arriving 50 days after the Jul 20, 2026 storm. By severity it ranks 4th of the 9 storms we have logged here. Radar put the day's largest stone over West Des Moines at 1" — radar-estimated size aloft.
The Sep 8, 2026 convective day was bigger than West Des Moines: the same system put hail over 62 other tracked cities, 35 of them in Iowa. Nearest: Waukee (5 miles west, up to 0.75"); Des Moines (8 miles east, up to 1.75"); Johnston (9 miles northeast, up to 2.5").
These maps are stills. In the app this date is one of 9 West Des Moines 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 West Des Moines. 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.
Damage-capable hail signal
What 1" hail means for West Des Moines roofs.
Quarter-size and larger hail can bruise asphalt mats, remove granules, and dent exposed soft metal. The mapped footprint identifies an inspection priority area — it does not identify which individual roofs, if any, sustained damage.
Radar reading · not confirmed damage
Roofing exposure
What this storm is worth to a roofer.
Potential roof exposure
$340M
Potential roof exposure — 28,331 homes × the ~$12,000 industry-average hail roof claim. Exposure, not confirmed damage.
- Illustrative jobs
- 142 jobs
- Illustrative work
- ~$2.1M
Close just 0.5% of the 28,331 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
September 2028
Claims from this storm can typically be filed until around September 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 $5,950 on top of the $150 plan.
West Des Moines hail history
Other storms in West Des Moines.
Estimated-size surface Jul 20, 2026
1.25"
Estimated-size surface Jul 3, 2026
1"
Estimated-size surface Jul 2, 2026
1.75"
Estimated-size surface Jun 11, 2026
0.75"
Estimated-size surface May 18, 2026
0.75"
Estimated-size surface Apr 23, 2026
1"
Estimated-size surface Apr 15, 2026
0.5"
Estimated-size surface Mar 30, 2026
1.75"Take your next area into the field.
See the hail, review your recommendations, and canvass with Overview on iPhone.
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