Hail size 1.25"
2 SW Sissonville Kanawha County
“Report from mPING: Half Dollar (1.25 in.). (RLX)”
— NOAA / SPC storm report
/ Storm field report · Kanawha
Hail in Charleston · May 20, 2026
The estimated-size surface reached 0.75" aloft; NEXRAD logged no point detections over Charleston that day. Open it on the live map to see the swath over the streets.
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Peak hail signal 0.75" ≈ penny to nickel · radar-estimated size aloft
Homes in the hail footprint 3,313
Ground reports 2 2 hail
Radar surfaces 1 Estimated size only
Convective day · May 20, 2026 · noon–noon UTC
Severity
The most severe storm Charleston has seen in the last 12 months
Composite score · 3.4 / 10
Storm severity score
Overview's storm severity score weighs hailstone size, homes in the footprint, and ground-truth reports.
3.4 /10
- Peak hail signal
- 19 /100
- Homes exposed
- 70 /100
- Ground truth
- 33 /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 Charleston saw the hail — from two instruments
May 20, 2026 · Charleston, WV
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
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
0.75"
Only the radar-estimated size surface resolved for May 20, 2026 — this storm produced no NEXRAD point detections over Charleston, so there is one map to show, not two.
The storm in context
Where May 20, 2026 sits in Charleston's hail record.
This was Charleston's 1st recorded hail day — the first hail day in our records for the city. By severity it ranks 1st of the 5 storms we have logged here. Radar put the day's largest stone over Charleston at 0.75" — radar-estimated size aloft.
The May 20, 2026 convective day was bigger than Charleston: the same system put hail over 109 other tracked cities, 9 of them in West Virginia. Nearest: Elkview (9 miles northeast, up to 1.25"); Clendenin (18 miles northeast, up to 1.25"); Procious (23 miles east, up to 1.25").
These maps are stills. In the app this date is one of 5 Charleston 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
2 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
2 reports Hail size 1"
1 N Sissonville Kanawha County
“Social media video showing quarter size hail. (RLX)”
— 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.
Reports came from Sissonville — beyond Charleston itself.
Near the severe threshold
What 0.75" hail means for Charleston roofs.
A signal this size sits near the National Weather Service severe threshold. Aging shingles and soft metals such as vents, flashing, and gutters may be more vulnerable; roof age, wind, and material condition all matter, and only an inspection can confirm damage.
Radar reading · not confirmed damage
Roofing exposure
What this storm is worth to a roofer.
3,313 homes × $12,000 avg. claim
Potential roof exposure
$40M
Potential roof exposure — 3,313 homes × the ~$12,000 industry-average hail roof claim. Exposure, not confirmed damage.
- Illustrative jobs
- 17 jobs
- Illustrative work
- ~$255K
Close just 0.5% of the 3,313 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
May 2028
Claims from this storm can typically be filed until around May 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 $696 on top of the $150 plan.
Charleston hail history
Other storms in Charleston.
5 recorded storm days in Charleston, WV
Estimated-size surface Storm date Charleston / WV
Aug 16, 2026
0.5" Estimated 0.5"
No ground reports filed Open report →
Estimated-size surface Storm date Charleston / WV
Aug 8, 2026
0.75" Estimated 0.75"
No ground reports filed Open report →
Estimated-size surface Storm date Charleston / WV
Jul 4, 2026
0.5" Signatures 0.5"
No ground reports filed Open report →
Estimated-size surface Storm date Charleston / WV
Jun 12, 2026
0.75" Estimated 0.75"
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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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 17, 2026.