Hail in Lake Crystal Apr 17, 2026
Both radar surfaces caught this storm: NEXRAD logged 6 hail signatures up to 1.5", and the radar-estimated size reached 0.75" aloft.
1.5"
≈ ping-pong ball · the largest NEXRAD radar signature374
0
none filedThe 2nd most severe storm Lake Crystal 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
- 38 /100
- Homes exposed
- 51 /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 Lake Crystal 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.
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.
Radar-estimated maximum hail size across the swath, modeled from radar aloft. It reflects the biggest stone the storm could support, which may differ from what actually fell.
Where Apr 17, 2026 sits in Lake Crystal's hail record
This was Lake Crystal's 2nd recorded hail day, arriving 4 days after the Apr 13, 2026 storm. By severity it ranks 2nd of the 8 storms we have logged here. Radar put the day's largest stone over Lake Crystal at 1.5" — the largest NEXRAD radar signature.
The Apr 17, 2026 convective day was bigger than Lake Crystal: the same system put hail over 1,016 other tracked cities, 81 of them in Minnesota. Nearest: Courtland (14 miles north, up to 1.25"); Nicollet (18 miles north, up to 1.25"); New Ulm (20 miles northwest, up to 2").
These maps are stills from Lake Crystal's Apr 17, 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.
Nobody on the ground filed a report over Lake Crystal for this date, which says more about who was watching than about the storm: spotter reports only exist where there is an observer. The radar surfaces above carry the evidence for this one.
What 1.5" hail means for Lake Crystal roofs
At an inch and a half, hail cracks shingles, strips granules down to the mat, and dents gutters, vents, and siding. A footprint like this typically produces a wave of insurance claims — and the contractor who reaches the homeowner first usually gets the inspection.
$4.5M
Potential roof exposure — 374 homes × the ~$12,000 industry-average hail roof claim. Exposure, not confirmed damage.Track hail over Lake Crystal on the live map
Radar updates in real time, spotter reports appear on the map as they're filed, and the full Lake Crystal storm history — this Apr 17, 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
8 recorded storm days in Lake Crystal, MN
Other storms in Lake Crystal
Jul 2, 2026
0.5"
Jun 30, 2026
Jun 9, 2026
0.5"
May 24, 2026
0.5"
May 17, 2026
1"
Apr 23, 2026
1.25"
Apr 13, 2026
3.25"