Hail in Altoona Apr 26, 2026
Both radar surfaces caught this storm: NEXRAD logged 0 hail signatures up to 2.5", and the radar-estimated size reached 1.25" aloft. At 2.5" — baseball — this is severe, roof-replacing hail: close to every roof inside the footprint becomes a claim candidate.
2.5"
≈ baseball · the largest NEXRAD radar signature1,555
0
none filedThe most severe storm Altoona 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
- 63 /100
- Homes exposed
- 64 /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 Altoona 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.
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.
Radar-estimated hail size over the swath. The model reports the biggest stone the storm could sustain in the air; what actually fell may have been smaller.
Where Apr 26, 2026 sits in Altoona's hail record
This was Altoona's 6th recorded hail day, arriving 9 days after the Apr 17, 2026 storm. By severity it ranks 1st of the 11 storms we have logged here. Radar put the day's largest stone over Altoona at 2.5" — the largest NEXRAD radar signature.
The Apr 26, 2026 convective day was bigger than Altoona: the same system put hail over 710 other tracked cities, 277 of them in Kansas. Nearest: Neodesha (7 miles south, up to 4"); Fredonia (9 miles northwest, up to 4"); Thayer (14 miles east, up to 2.5").
These maps are stills from Altoona's Apr 26, 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 Altoona. 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 2.5" hail means for Altoona roofs
Two-inch-plus hail punctures shingles, breaks skylights and windows, and dents anything soft. In the core of a footprint like this, close to every roof is a candidate for an insurance claim. Speed decides who writes those jobs.
$19M
Potential roof exposure — 1,555 homes × the ~$12,000 industry-average hail roof claim. Exposure, not confirmed damage.Track hail over Altoona on the live map
Radar updates in real time, spotter reports appear on the map as they're filed, and the full Altoona storm history — this Apr 26, 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
11 recorded storm days in Altoona, KS
Other storms in Altoona
Jul 29, 2026
1"
Jul 10, 2026
1.75"
Jun 16, 2026
1.75"
Jun 13, 2026
0.5"
May 31, 2026
1.75"
Apr 17, 2026
1.75"
Apr 3, 2026
1"
Mar 31, 2026
1"
Mar 5, 2026
Mar 3, 2026
1"