Hail in Ottawa · May 3, 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 · May 3, 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
Two instruments, one storm: NEXRAD logs the point signatures it detected overhead, while the estimated-size surface models how large the hail aloft could have grown. Agreement between them is not guaranteed — the gaps are where the model ran ahead of, or behind, the detections.
Radar signature field NEXRAD's hail signatures for this storm: the spots the radar detected from above. A detection overhead is not the same thing as a confirmed stone below.
Only the NEXRAD radar-signature surface resolved for May 3, 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 May 3, 2026 sits in Ottawa's hail record.
This was Ottawa's 5th recorded hail day, arriving 20 days after the Apr 13, 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 May 3, 2026 convective day was bigger than Ottawa: the same system put hail over 115 other tracked cities, 63 of them in Illinois. Nearest: Elwood (39 miles east, up to 1"); Blue Mound (119 miles south, up to 1"); Edinburg (120 miles south, up to 1").
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.
No ground reports were filed with the National Weather Service for this storm over Ottawa. 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.
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"
Estimated-size surface Apr 13, 2026
3"
Estimated-size surface Mar 31, 2026
1.25"
NEXRAD surface Mar 26, 2026
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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