Hail in New Orleans · Apr 26, 2026
NEXRAD logged 6 hail signatures up to 1.75"; the estimated-size surface reached 0.5" aloft. Open it on the live map to see the swath over the streets.
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Convective day · Apr 26, 2026 · noon–noon UTC
Severity
The 5th most severe storm New Orleans 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
- 44 /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 New Orleans saw the hail — from two instruments
We map this storm two ways: the NEXRAD radar signatures the storm produced overhead, and the radar-estimated size of the hail in the air. The two surfaces don’t have to match — where they diverge is where estimated size aloft ran ahead of, or behind, what the signatures caught.
Radar signature field NEXRAD radar signatures — the point detections the storm produced overhead. A signature is where the radar saw hail, not a confirmed stone on the ground.
Estimated size field Maximum hail size as estimated from radar aloft. Treat it as the storm's ceiling — the largest supportable stone — rather than a ground measurement.
The storm in context
Where Apr 26, 2026 sits in New Orleans's hail record.
This was New Orleans's 3rd recorded hail day, arriving 2 days after the Apr 24, 2026 storm. By severity it ranks 5th of the 11 storms we have logged here. Radar put the day's largest stone over New Orleans at 1.75" — the largest NEXRAD radar signature.
The Apr 26, 2026 convective day was bigger than New Orleans: the same system put hail over 710 other tracked cities, 17 of them in Louisiana. Nearest: Slidell (30 miles northeast, up to 1"); Pearl River (37 miles north, up to 1"); Ponchatoula (46 miles northwest, up to 1").
These maps are stills. In the app this date is one of 11 New Orleans 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 New Orleans. 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.
High damage potential
What 1.75" hail means for New Orleans roofs.
Hail around an inch and a half is capable of cracking shingles, stripping granules, and denting gutters, vents, and siding. Risk is usually greatest near the strongest radar signal, but property-level damage still requires an on-site inspection.
Radar reading · not confirmed damage
New Orleans hail history
Other storms in New Orleans.
Estimated-size surface Aug 24, 2026
0.5"
Estimated-size surface Aug 21, 2026
0.5"
Estimated-size surface Jul 10, 2026
1"
NEXRAD surface Jul 9, 2026
0.75"
Estimated-size surface Jul 7, 2026
1.75"
Estimated-size surface Jul 6, 2026
Estimated-size surface Jun 19, 2026
0.5"
Estimated-size surface May 22, 2026
0.5"
NEXRAD surface Apr 24, 2026
1"
Estimated-size surface Mar 15, 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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