Hail in Ottawa · Mar 26, 2026
NEXRAD logged 0 hail signatures up to 0"; the estimated-size surface had no signal that day. Open it on the live map to see the swath over the streets.
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Convective day · Mar 26, 2026 · noon–noon UTC
Severity
The 10th most severe storm Ottawa 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
- 0 /100
- Homes exposed
- 0 /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 Ottawa saw the hail — from two instruments
Each storm gets two readings: the radar signatures NEXRAD recorded as the cells passed overhead, and a modeled estimate of hail size in the air. They are independent surfaces, so a mismatch between them is expected — and worth reading.
Radar signature field The point detections NEXRAD recorded overhead. Each signature marks where the radar saw hail aloft — it is a detection, not a stone measured on the ground.
Only the NEXRAD radar-signature surface resolved for Mar 26, 2026 — the estimated-size swath had no hail signal to model for this storm, so there is one map to show, not two.
The storm in context
Where Mar 26, 2026 sits in Ottawa's hail record.
This was Ottawa's 2nd recorded hail day, arriving 16 days after the Mar 10, 2026 storm. By severity it ranks 10th of the 11 storms we have logged here. Radar put the day's largest stone over Ottawa at 0" — radar-estimated size aloft.
The Mar 26, 2026 convective day was bigger than Ottawa: the same system put hail over 316 other tracked cities, 103 of them in Illinois. Nearest: Seneca (13 miles east, up to 0.75"); Somonauk (22 miles north, up to 0.5"); Morris (24 miles east, up to 0.75").
These maps are stills. In the app this date is one of 11 Ottawa 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.
The National Weather Service logged no spotter reports for this storm over Ottawa. 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.
Below the severe threshold
What 0" hail means for Ottawa roofs.
Radar signals under three-quarters of an inch stay below the National Weather Service severe threshold and generally indicate lower roof risk. Older or already-worn materials can still show effects, but radar alone cannot determine whether a specific roof was damaged.
Radar reading · not confirmed damage
Ottawa hail history
Other storms in Ottawa.
Estimated-size surface Aug 12, 2026
0.75"
Estimated-size surface Aug 11, 2026
1"
Estimated-size surface Aug 9, 2026
0.75"
Estimated-size surface Jul 3, 2026
1.25"
Estimated-size surface Jun 24, 2026
1"
Estimated-size surface May 4, 2026
2"
NEXRAD surface May 3, 2026
Estimated-size surface Apr 13, 2026
3"
Estimated-size surface Mar 31, 2026
1.25"
Estimated-size surface Mar 10, 2026
1"The next storm won’t wait for you.
Set your territory and alerts today. When hail hits, use Overview to choose your streets and get moving.
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