Hail in Ottawa · Mar 5, 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 5, 2026 · noon–noon UTC
Severity
The 8th 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 5, 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 5, 2026 sits in Ottawa's hail record.
This was Ottawa's 1st recorded hail day — the first hail day in our records for the city. By severity it ranks 8th of the 8 storms we have logged here. Radar put the day's largest stone over Ottawa at 0" — radar-estimated size aloft.
The Mar 5, 2026 convective day was bigger than Ottawa: the same system put hail over 343 other tracked cities, 110 of them in Kansas. Nearest: Williamsburg (12 miles southwest, up to 0"); Lawrence (18 miles north, up to 0"); Waverly (26 miles southwest, up to 1").
These maps are stills. In the app this date is one of 8 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 Sep 9, 2026
0.75"
Estimated-size surface May 30, 2026
1.75"
Estimated-size surface Apr 26, 2026
1.25"
Estimated-size surface Apr 23, 2026
1"
Estimated-size surface Apr 17, 2026
2.25"
Estimated-size surface Apr 13, 2026
1.75"
Estimated-size surface Mar 10, 2026
0.75"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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For iPhone. Android coming soon.
Web trial: 7 days free. Card required. $150/month after the trial unless cancelled.