“Verified via photo with coins from social media. (MKX)”
— NOAA / SPC storm report
Hail in Watertown · Apr 14, 2026
Convective day · Apr 14, 2026 · noon–noon UTC
Severity
The most severe storm Watertown 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
- 85 /100
- Ground truth
- 100 /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 Watertown saw the hail — from two instruments
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.
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.
Only the radar-estimated size surface resolved for Apr 14, 2026 — this storm produced no NEXRAD point detections over Watertown, so there is one map to show, not two.
The storm in context
Where Apr 14, 2026 sits in Watertown's hail record.
This was Watertown's 2nd recorded hail day, arriving 14 days after the Mar 31, 2026 storm. By severity it ranks 1st of the 8 storms we have logged here. Radar put the day's largest stone over Watertown at 1.75" — radar-estimated size aloft.
The Apr 14, 2026 convective day was bigger than Watertown: the same system put hail over 476 other tracked cities, 94 of them in Wisconsin. Nearest: Waterloo (5 miles west, up to 2.25"); Johnson Creek (7 miles south, up to 1.75"); Lake Mills (9 miles southwest, up to 2.25").
These maps are stills. In the app this date is one of 8 Watertown 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
7 reports“Report from mPING: Quarter (1.00 in.). (MKX)”
— NOAA / SPC storm report
“Photo from social media with a quarter for comparison. (MKX)”
— NOAA / SPC storm report
“Report from mPING: Quarter (1.00 in.). (MKX)”
— NOAA / SPC storm report
“(MKX)”
— NOAA / SPC storm report
“Report from mPING: Golf Ball (1.75 in.). (MKX)”
— NOAA / SPC storm report
“(MKX)”
— 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 32 minutes, from to .
High damage potential
What 1.75" hail means for Watertown 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
$221M
Potential roof exposure — 18,416 homes × the ~$12,000 industry-average hail roof claim. Exposure, not confirmed damage.
- Illustrative jobs
- 92 jobs
- Illustrative work
- ~$1.4M
Close just 0.5% of the 18,416 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 $3,867 on top of the $150 plan.
Watertown hail history
Other storms in Watertown.
Estimated-size surface Sep 4, 2026
0.5"
Estimated-size surface Jul 27, 2026
1.75"
Estimated-size surface Jul 2, 2026
1.75"
Estimated-size surface May 17, 2026
0.5"
Estimated-size surface May 15, 2026
1"
Estimated-size surface Apr 17, 2026
1.5"
Estimated-size surface Mar 31, 2026
1.25"The next storm won’t wait for you.
Set your territory and alerts today. When hail hits, use Overview to choose your streets and get moving.
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