“(ILN)”
— NOAA / SPC storm report
Hail in Columbus · Mar 22, 2026
Convective day · Mar 22, 2026 · noon–noon UTC
Severity
The 2nd most severe storm Columbus 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
- 93 /100
- Ground truth
- 67 /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 Columbus 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.
Estimated size field Radar-estimated hail size over the swath. The model reports the biggest stone the storm could sustain in the air; what actually fell may have been smaller.
The storm in context
Where Mar 22, 2026 sits in Columbus's hail record.
This was Columbus's 1st recorded hail day — the first hail day in our records for the city. By severity it ranks 2nd of the 7 storms we have logged here. Radar put the day's largest stone over Columbus at 1.75" — the largest NEXRAD radar signature.
The Mar 22, 2026 convective day was bigger than Columbus: the same system put hail over 409 other tracked cities, 158 of them in Ohio. Nearest: Dublin (7 miles north, up to 1.75"); Galloway (9 miles southwest, up to 1"); Westerville (13 miles northeast, up to 1.75").
These maps are stills. In the app this date is one of 7 Columbus 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.
Hail reports
4 reports“(ILN)”
— NOAA / SPC storm report
“Time est from radar. (ILN)”
— NOAA / SPC storm report
“(ILN)”
— NOAA / SPC storm report
Storm forensics
How the storm moved
Read from the arrival times and locations of the NOAA ground reports, not a radar-measured storm track.
Hail was reported over 25 minutes, from to .
Reports came from Worthington, Dublin, and Westerville — beyond Columbus itself.
High damage potential
What 1.75" hail means for Columbus 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
Roofing exposure
What this storm is worth to a roofer.
Potential roof exposure
$510M
Potential roof exposure — 42,496 homes × the ~$12,000 industry-average hail roof claim. Exposure, not confirmed damage.
- Illustrative jobs
- 212 jobs
- Illustrative work
- ~$3.2M
Close just 0.5% of the 42,496 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
March 2028
Claims from this storm can typically be filed until around March 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 $8,924 on top of the $150 plan.
Columbus hail history
Other storms in Columbus.
Estimated-size surface Sep 4, 2026
0.5"
Estimated-size surface Aug 11, 2026
0.5"
Estimated-size surface Aug 10, 2026
0.75"
Estimated-size surface Jul 10, 2026
1"
Estimated-size surface Jun 6, 2026
2.75"
Estimated-size surface Apr 22, 2026
1.75"The next storm won’t wait for you.
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