Hail size 1"
2 NE Highland Lake County
“(LOT)”
— NOAA / SPC storm report
/ Storm field report · Lake
Hail in Gary · Mar 26, 2026
NEXRAD logged 24 hail signatures up to 2.5"; the estimated-size surface had no signal that day. At 2.5" — baseball — this is a severe hail signal associated with roof damage. Open it on the live map to see the swath over the streets.
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Peak hail signal 2.5" ≈ baseball · the largest NEXRAD radar signature
Homes in the hail footprint 39,771
Ground reports 1 1 hail
Radar surfaces 1 NEXRAD only
Convective day · Mar 26, 2026 · noon–noon UTC
Severity
The most severe storm Gary 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
- 63 /100
- Homes exposed
- 92 /100
- Ground truth
- 17 /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 Gary saw the hail — from two instruments
Mar 26, 2026 · Gary, IN
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
2.5"
Detections
24
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 Gary's hail record.
This was Gary's 1st recorded hail day — the first hail day in our records for the city. By severity it ranks 1st of the 5 storms we have logged here. Radar put the day's largest stone over Gary at 2.5" — the largest NEXRAD radar signature.
The Mar 26, 2026 convective day was bigger than Gary: the same system put hail over 316 other tracked cities, 80 of them in Indiana. Nearest: Hobart (9 miles southeast, up to 1.5"); Hammond (10 miles west, up to 2.5"); Valparaiso (12 miles southeast, up to 1").
These maps are stills. In the app this date is one of 5 Gary 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
1 report 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.
Hail reports
1 reportStorm 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.
Reports came from Highland — beyond Gary itself.
Severe hail signal
What 2.5" hail means for Gary 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.
39,771 homes × $12,000 avg. claim
Potential roof exposure
$477M
Potential roof exposure — 39,771 homes × the ~$12,000 industry-average hail roof claim. Exposure, not confirmed damage.
- Illustrative jobs
- 199 jobs
- Illustrative work
- ~$3M
Close just 0.5% of the 39,771 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
March 2028
Claims from this storm can typically be filed until around March 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 $8,352 on top of the $150 plan.
Estimated-size surface Storm date Gary / IN
Aug 9, 2026
0.75" Estimated 0.75"
No ground reports filed Open report →
NEXRAD surface Storm date Gary / IN
Jul 20, 2026
1" Signatures 1"
No ground reports filed Open report →
Estimated-size surface Storm date Gary / IN
Jun 24, 2026
1.25" Estimated 1.25"
1 ground report Open report →
NEXRAD surface Storm date Gary / IN
May 4, 2026
0.5" Signatures 0.5"
No ground reports filed Open report →
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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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 10, 2026.