Both radar surfaces caught this storm: NEXRAD logged 8 hail signatures up to 1.75", and the radar-estimated size reached 1" aloft.
A tornado was also reported to the National Weather Service during this storm — see the ground reports below.
1.75"
≈ golf ball · the largest NEXRAD radar signature2,450
4
4 tornadoOverview's storm severity score weighs hailstone size, homes in the footprint, and ground-truth reports.
Largest hailstone — the top predictor of roof damage.
How many homes sit inside the storm's footprint.
Independent storm reports filed with the NWS.
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.
This was Rochester's 1st recorded hail day — the first hail day in our records for the city. By severity it ranks 1st of the 4 storms we have logged here. Radar put the day's largest stone over Rochester at 1.75" — the largest NEXRAD radar signature.
The Apr 17, 2026 convective day was bigger than Rochester: the same system put hail over 1,016 other tracked cities, 81 of them in Minnesota. Nearest: Stewartville (16 miles southwest, up to 1.75"); Eyota (16 miles southeast, up to 1.75"); Zumbrota (16 miles northwest, up to 1.5").
These maps are stills from Rochester'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.
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.
“This EF-2 tornado (estimated peak wind 130 mph) formed just northeast of Stewartville around 2:17 pm and traveled about 10 miles northeast damaging numerous homes and f (ARX)”
— NOAA / SPC storm report
“Rochester Tower reported tornado on the ground near Highway 63. (ARX)”
— NOAA / SPC storm report
“Rochester Tower reported tornado on the ground near Highway 63. (ARX)”
— NOAA / SPC storm report
“The tornado began in a northeast suburb of Rochester at around 2:30 pm with just shingle damage to homes and traveled northeast into more rural areas. The first portion (ARX)”
— NOAA / SPC storm report
Hail was reported over 15 minutes, from to .
Reports came from Stewartville — beyond Rochester itself.
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.
$29M
Potential roof exposure — 2,450 homes × the ~$12,000 industry-average hail roof claim. Exposure, not confirmed damage.Radar updates in real time, spotter reports appear on the map as they're filed, and the full Rochester 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
4 recorded storm days in Rochester, MN
