Hail size 1"
Watertown Jefferson County
“(MKX)”
— NOAA / SPC storm report
/ Storm field report · Dodge
Hail in Watertown · Apr 17, 2026
NEXRAD logged 38 hail signatures up to 1.5"; the estimated-size surface reached 0.75" aloft. Open it on the live map to see the swath over the streets.
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Peak hail signal 1.5" ≈ ping-pong ball · the largest NEXRAD radar signature
Homes in the hail footprint 8,994
Ground reports 1 1 hail
Radar surfaces 2 NEXRAD + estimated size
Convective day · Apr 17, 2026 · noon–noon UTC
Severity
The 3rd most severe storm Watertown has seen in the last 12 months
Composite score · 4.5 / 10
Storm severity score
Overview's storm severity score weighs hailstone size, homes in the footprint, and ground-truth reports.
4.5 /10
- Peak hail signal
- 38 /100
- Homes exposed
- 79 /100
- Ground truth
- 17 /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
Apr 17, 2026 · Watertown, WI
We map this storm two ways: the NEXRAD radar signatures the storm produced overhead, and the radar-estimated size of the hail in the air. The two surfaces don’t have to match — where they diverge is where estimated size aloft ran ahead of, or behind, what the signatures caught.
NEXRAD radar signatures Surface resolved
Radar signature field NEXRAD radar signatures — the point detections the storm produced overhead. A signature is where the radar saw hail, not a confirmed stone on the ground.
Max size
1.5"
Detections
38
Radar-estimated hail size Surface resolved
Estimated size field Maximum hail size as estimated from radar aloft. Treat it as the storm's ceiling — the largest supportable stone — rather than a ground measurement.
Max size
0.75"
The storm in context
Where Apr 17, 2026 sits in Watertown's hail record.
This was Watertown's 3rd recorded hail day, arriving 3 days after the Apr 14, 2026 storm. By severity it ranks 3rd of the 8 storms we have logged here. Radar put the day's largest stone over Watertown at 1.5" — the largest NEXRAD radar signature.
The Apr 17, 2026 convective day was bigger than Watertown: the same system put hail over 1,016 other tracked cities, 178 of them in Wisconsin. Nearest: Waterloo (5 miles west, up to 1.5"); Johnson Creek (7 miles south, up to 1.5"); Lake Mills (9 miles southwest, up to 1.5").
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
1 report 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
1 reportHigh damage potential
What 1.5" 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.
8,994 homes × $12,000 avg. claim
Potential roof exposure
$108M
Potential roof exposure — 8,994 homes × the ~$12,000 industry-average hail roof claim. Exposure, not confirmed damage.
- Illustrative jobs
- 45 jobs
- Illustrative work
- ~$675K
Close just 0.5% of the 8,994 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 $1,889 on top of the $150 plan.
Watertown hail history
Other storms in Watertown.
8 recorded storm days in Watertown, WI
Estimated-size surface Storm date Watertown / WI
Sep 4, 2026
0.5" Estimated 0.5"
No ground reports filed Open report →
Estimated-size surface Storm date Watertown / WI
Jul 27, 2026
1.75" Estimated 1.75"
1 ground report Open report →
Estimated-size surface Storm date Watertown / WI
Jul 2, 2026
1.75" Signatures 1.75" Estimated 1"
No ground reports filed Open report →
Estimated-size surface Storm date Watertown / WI
May 17, 2026
0.5" Signatures 0.5"
No ground reports filed Open report →
Estimated-size surface Storm date Watertown / WI
May 15, 2026
1" Signatures 1"
No ground reports filed Open report →
Estimated-size surface Storm date Watertown / WI
Apr 14, 2026
1.75" Estimated 1.75"
7 ground reports Open report →
Estimated-size surface Storm date Watertown / WI
Mar 31, 2026
1.25" Signatures 1.25" Estimated 0.5"
No ground reports filed Open report →
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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For iPhone. Android coming soon.
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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 Sep 5, 2026.