/ Storm field report · McLennan

Hail in Waco · Apr 28, 2026

The estimated-size surface reached 3" aloft; NEXRAD logged no point detections over Waco that day. At 3" — baseball — 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 3" ≈ baseball · radar-estimated size aloft
Homes in the hail footprint 30,481
Ground reports 8 7 hail · 1 wind
Radar surfaces 1 Estimated size only

Convective day · Apr 28, 2026 · noon–noon UTC

Severity

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

Composite score · 8.2 / 10
Storm severity score

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

8.2 /10
Peak hail signal
75 /100

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

Homes exposed
90 /100

How many homes sit inside the storm's footprint.

Ground truth
100 /100

Independent storm reports filed with the NWS.

Evidence / storm surfaces

How Waco saw the hail — from two instruments

Apr 28, 2026 · Waco, TX

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.

Radar-estimated hail size Surface resolved
Radar-estimated hail-size map of the storm over Waco, TX on Apr 28, 2026 Estimated size field

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.

Max size 3"

Only the radar-estimated size surface resolved for Apr 28, 2026 — this storm produced no NEXRAD point detections over Waco, so there is one map to show, not two.

The storm in context

Where Apr 28, 2026 sits in Waco's hail record.

This was Waco's 2nd recorded hail day, arriving 16 days after the Apr 12, 2026 storm. By severity it ranks 1st of the 3 storms we have logged here. Radar put the day's largest stone over Waco at 3" — radar-estimated size aloft.

The Apr 28, 2026 convective day was bigger than Waco: the same system put hail over 724 other tracked cities, 100 of them in Texas. Nearest: Elm Mott (7 miles north, up to 2.25"); Axtell (11 miles northeast, up to 1.25"); China Spring (14 miles northwest, up to 1.75").

These maps are stills. In the app this date is one of 3 Waco 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

8 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

7 reports
Hail size 1"
3 NW Northcrest McLennan County

“Report from mPING Quarter 1.00 in. (FWD)”

— NOAA / SPC storm report
Hail size 2.75"
Hallsburg McLennan County

“Delayed report from Tuesday night April 28th. Numerous social media photos showed hail from golfball to baseball size fell in Hallsburg. Significant damage occurred to (FWD)”

— NOAA / SPC storm report
Hail size 1.5"
1 SE Bellmead McLennan County

“Report from mPING Ping Pong Ball 1.50 in. (FWD)”

— NOAA / SPC storm report
Hail size 1"
1 E Northcrest McLennan County

“Report from mPING Quarter 1.00 in. (FWD)”

— NOAA / SPC storm report
Hail size 1"
2 N Northcrest McLennan County

“Quarter sized hail was reported in Elm Mott. (FWD)”

— NOAA / SPC storm report
Hail size 2.5"
1 NE Lacy-Lakeview McLennan County

“Report from mPING: Tennis Ball 2.50 in. (FWD)”

— NOAA / SPC storm report
Hail size 2.25"
2 WNW Hallsburg McLennan County

“2.25 inch diameter hail reported near Tradinghouse Lake. (FWD)”

— NOAA / SPC storm report

Wind reports

1 report
Wind gust 72 mph
4 NW Waco McLennan County

“A 72 mph wind gust was measured at Waco Regional Airport. (FWD)”

— 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 25 minutes, from to .

Reports came from Northcrest, Hallsburg, Bellmead, and Lacy-Lakeview — beyond Waco itself.

Severe hail signal

What 3" hail means for Waco 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.

30,481 homes × $12,000 avg. claim

Potential roof exposure

$366M

Potential roof exposure — 30,481 homes × the ~$12,000 industry-average hail roof claim. Exposure, not confirmed damage.

Illustrative jobs
152 jobs
Illustrative work
~$2.3M

Close just 0.5% of the 30,481 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

April 2028

Claims from this storm can typically be filed until around April 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 $6,401 on top of the $150 plan.

Waco hail history

3 recorded storm days in Waco, TX

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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 2, 2026.