/ Storm field report · Minnehaha

Hail in Hartford · Aug 20, 2026

Hit 23 days ago

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.

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Peak hail signal 2" ≈ tennis ball · radar-estimated size aloft
Homes in the hail footprint 2,054
Ground reports 3 3 hail
Radar surfaces 2 NEXRAD + estimated size

Convective day · Aug 20, 2026 · noon–noon UTC

Severity

The most severe storm Hartford has seen in the last 12 months

Composite score · 5.4 / 10
Storm severity score

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

5.4 /10
Peak hail signal
50 /100

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

Homes exposed
66 /100

How many homes sit inside the storm's footprint.

Ground truth
50 /100

Independent storm reports filed with the NWS.

Evidence / storm surfaces

How Hartford saw the hail — from two instruments

Aug 20, 2026 · Hartford, SD

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 Hartford, SD on Aug 20, 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 0" Detections 0
Radar-estimated hail size Surface resolved
Radar-estimated hail-size map of the storm over Hartford, SD on Aug 20, 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 2"

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

3 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.

Hail reports

3 reports
Hail size 1.25"
2 W Hartford Minnehaha County

“Photo posted to social media. (FSD)”

— NOAA / SPC storm report
Hail size 1.75"
Humboldt Minnehaha County

“(FSD)”

— NOAA / SPC storm report
Hail size 1.5"
5 NW Crooks Minnehaha County

“Photo posted to social media. Time estimated based on radar. (FSD)”

— NOAA / SPC storm report

Storm forensics

How the storm moved

Timing and place names from NOAA ground reports

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.

2,054 homes × $12,000 avg. claim

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

8 recorded storm days in Hartford, SD

Take your next area into the field.

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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 Aug 29, 2026.