/ Storm field report · Cottonwood

Hail in Mountain Lake · May 17, 2026

NEXRAD logged 0 hail signatures up to 2.5"; the estimated-size surface reached 1.75" aloft. 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.

Download on the App Store

7-day free trial in the iPhone app. No card required to start.

For iPhone. Android coming soon.

Web trial: 7 days free. Card required. $150/month after the trial unless cancelled.

Peak hail signal 2.5" ≈ baseball · the largest NEXRAD radar signature
Homes in the hail footprint 465
Ground reports 0 none filed
Radar surfaces 2 NEXRAD + estimated size

Convective day · May 17, 2026 · noon–noon UTC

Severity

The most severe storm Mountain Lake has seen in the last 12 months

Composite score · 5.1 / 10
Storm severity score

Overview's storm severity score weighs hailstone size, homes in the footprint, and ground-truth reports.

5.1 /10
Peak hail signal
63 /100

Largest radar-indicated size — a signal of damage potential, not confirmation.

Homes exposed
53 /100

How many homes sit inside the storm's footprint.

Ground truth
0 /100

Independent storm reports filed with the NWS.

Evidence / storm surfaces

How Mountain Lake saw the hail — from two instruments

May 17, 2026 · Mountain Lake, MN

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
NEXRAD radar-signature map of the hail storm over Mountain Lake, MN on May 17, 2026 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 0
Radar-estimated hail size Surface resolved
Radar-estimated hail-size map of the storm over Mountain Lake, MN on May 17, 2026 Estimated size field

The modeled maximum hail size across the swath, derived from radar aloft — the largest stone the storm could have supported, which is not necessarily what reached the ground.

Max size 1.75"

The storm in context

Where May 17, 2026 sits in Mountain Lake's hail record.

This was Mountain Lake's 3rd recorded hail day, arriving 24 days after the Apr 23, 2026 storm. By severity it ranks 1st of the 14 storms we have logged here. Radar put the day's largest stone over Mountain Lake at 2.5" — the largest NEXRAD radar signature.

The May 17, 2026 convective day was bigger than Mountain Lake: the same system put hail over 894 other tracked cities, 91 of them in Minnesota. Nearest: Windom (5 miles west, up to 2.5"); Saint James (17 miles east, up to 2.5"); Jackson (21 miles south, up to 2.5").

These maps are stills. In the app this date is one of 14 Mountain Lake 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

No reports 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.

Nobody on the ground filed a report over Mountain Lake 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.

Severe hail signal

What 2.5" hail means for Mountain Lake 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.

465 homes × $12,000 avg. claim

Potential roof exposure

$5.6M

Potential roof exposure — 465 homes × the ~$12,000 industry-average hail roof claim. Exposure, not confirmed damage.

Illustrative jobs
2 jobs
Illustrative work
~$30K

Close just 0.5% of the 465 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

May 2028

Claims from this storm can typically be filed until around May 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 $98 on top of the $150 plan.

Mountain Lake hail history

14 recorded storm days in Mountain Lake, MN
Radar-estimated hail-size map of the storm over Mountain Lake, MN on Sep 6, 2026 Estimated-size surface
Storm date Mountain Lake / MN

Sep 6, 2026

0.75"
Estimated 0.75"
No ground reports filed Open report →
Radar-estimated hail-size map of the storm over Mountain Lake, MN on Aug 7, 2026 Estimated-size surface
Storm date Mountain Lake / MN

Aug 7, 2026

1"
Estimated 1"
No ground reports filed Open report →
Radar-estimated hail-size map of the storm over Mountain Lake, MN on Jul 25, 2026 Estimated-size surface
Storm date Mountain Lake / MN

Jul 25, 2026

No ground reports filed Open report →
Radar-estimated hail-size map of the storm over Mountain Lake, MN on Jul 6, 2026 Estimated-size surface
Storm date Mountain Lake / MN

Jul 6, 2026

1.75"
Signatures 1.75" Estimated 1"
No ground reports filed Open report →
Radar-estimated hail-size map of the storm over Mountain Lake, MN on Jul 4, 2026 Estimated-size surface
Storm date Mountain Lake / MN

Jul 4, 2026

0.75"
Signatures 0.75"
No ground reports filed Open report →
Radar-estimated hail-size map of the storm over Mountain Lake, MN on Jul 2, 2026 Estimated-size surface
Storm date Mountain Lake / MN

Jul 2, 2026

2"
Signatures 2" Estimated 1.25"
No ground reports filed Open report →
Radar-estimated hail-size map of the storm over Mountain Lake, MN on Jun 29, 2026 Estimated-size surface
Storm date Mountain Lake / MN

Jun 29, 2026

1"
Signatures 1" Estimated 0.5"
6 ground reports Open report →
Radar-estimated hail-size map of the storm over Mountain Lake, MN on Jun 27, 2026 Estimated-size surface
Storm date Mountain Lake / MN

Jun 27, 2026

0.5"
Estimated 0.5"
No ground reports filed Open report →
Radar-estimated hail-size map of the storm over Mountain Lake, MN on Jun 9, 2026 Estimated-size surface
Storm date Mountain Lake / MN

Jun 9, 2026

0.5"
Estimated 0.5"
No ground reports filed Open report →
Radar-estimated hail-size map of the storm over Mountain Lake, MN on May 25, 2026 Estimated-size surface
Storm date Mountain Lake / MN

May 25, 2026

1"
Signatures 1" Estimated 0.75"
No ground reports filed Open report →
NEXRAD radar-signature map of the hail storm over Mountain Lake, MN on May 18, 2026 NEXRAD surface
Storm date Mountain Lake / MN

May 18, 2026

2.5"
Signatures 2.5"
No ground reports filed Open report →
Radar-estimated hail-size map of the storm over Mountain Lake, MN on Apr 23, 2026 Estimated-size surface
Storm date Mountain Lake / MN

Apr 23, 2026

1"
Signatures 1" Estimated 0.5"
No ground reports filed Open report →
Radar-estimated hail-size map of the storm over Mountain Lake, MN on Apr 13, 2026 Estimated-size surface
Storm date Mountain Lake / MN

Apr 13, 2026

1.75"
Signatures 1.75" Estimated 1"
2 ground reports 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.

Download on the App Store

7-day free trial in the iPhone app. No card required to start.

For iPhone. Android coming soon.

Open this storm on the live map → Start free trial

Web trial: 7 days free. Card required. $150/month after the trial unless cancelled.

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 Sep 7, 2026.