“Photo posted to social media. (FSD)”
— NOAA / SPC storm report
Hail in Hartford · Aug 20, 2026
NEXRAD logged 0 hail signatures up to 0"; the estimated-size surface reached 2" aloft. At 2" — tennis ball — this is a severe hail signal associated with roof damage. Open it on the live map to see the swath over the streets.
Convective day · Aug 20, 2026 · noon–noon UTC
Severity
The most severe storm Hartford 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
- 50 /100
- Homes exposed
- 66 /100
- Ground truth
- 50 /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 Hartford saw the hail — from two instruments
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.
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.
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.
The storm in context
Where Aug 20, 2026 sits in Hartford's hail record.
This was Hartford's 7th recorded hail day, arriving 26 days after the Jul 25, 2026 storm. By severity it ranks 1st of the 8 storms we have logged here. Radar put the day's largest stone over Hartford at 2" — radar-estimated size aloft.
The Aug 20, 2026 convective day was bigger than Hartford: the same system put hail over 640 other tracked cities, 17 of them in South Dakota. Nearest: Crooks (9 miles northeast, up to 1.25"); Humboldt (10 miles west, up to 1.25"); Montrose (12 miles northwest, up to 1").
These maps are stills. In the app this date is one of 8 Hartford 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
3 reports“(FSD)”
— NOAA / SPC storm report
“Photo posted to social media. Time estimated based on radar. (FSD)”
— 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 14 minutes, from to .
Reports came from Humboldt and Crooks — beyond Hartford itself.
Severe hail signal
What 2" hail means for Hartford 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.
Potential roof exposure
$25M
Potential roof exposure — 2,054 homes × the ~$12,000 industry-average hail roof claim. Exposure, not confirmed damage.
- Illustrative jobs
- 10 jobs
- Illustrative work
- ~$150K
Close just 0.5% of the 2,054 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
August 2028
Claims from this storm can typically be filed until around August 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 $431 on top of the $150 plan.
Hartford hail history
Other storms in Hartford.
Estimated-size surface Aug 28, 2026
0.75"
Estimated-size surface Jul 25, 2026
0.75"
Estimated-size surface Jul 2, 2026
1"
Estimated-size surface Jun 27, 2026
0.5"
Estimated-size surface May 31, 2026
1.75"
Estimated-size surface May 24, 2026
1"
Estimated-size surface May 17, 2026
1.5"Take your next area into the field.
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