The estimated-size surface reached 2" aloft; NEXRAD logged no point detections over Gillette that day. 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.
A tornado was also reported to the National Weather Service during this storm. The ground reports below show where it was filed.
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Convective day · Aug 12, 2026 · noon–noon UTC
Severity
Overview's storm severity score weighs hailstone size, homes in the footprint, and ground-truth reports.
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
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.
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.
Only the radar-estimated size surface resolved for Aug 12, 2026 — this storm produced no NEXRAD point detections over Gillette, so there is one map to show, not two.
The storm in context
This was Gillette's 13th recorded hail day, arriving 14 days after the Jul 29, 2026 storm. By severity it ranks 2nd of the 13 storms we have logged here. Radar put the day's largest stone over Gillette at 2" — radar-estimated size aloft.
The Aug 12, 2026 convective day was bigger than Gillette: the same system put hail over 507 other tracked cities, 4 of them in Wyoming. Nearest: Newcastle (38 miles east, up to 2.75"); Lusk (80 miles southeast, up to 2.5"); Custer (92 miles east, up to 2.25").
These maps are stills. In the app this date is one of 13 Gillette 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
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.
“Tornado reported in the area of Highway 59 and Rattlesnake Rd. Multiple homes and buildings severely damaged with occupants trapped and since rescued. Roof missing from (UNR)”
— NOAA / SPC storm report
“Measured on a personal weather station (UNR)”
— NOAA / SPC storm report
Storm forensics
Read from the arrival times and locations of the NOAA ground reports, not a radar-measured storm track.
Reports came from Reno Junction — beyond Gillette itself.
Severe hail signal
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
Potential roof exposure
$9.7M
Potential roof exposure — 806 homes × the ~$12,000 industry-average hail roof claim. Exposure, not confirmed damage.
Close just 0.5% of the 806 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 $169 on top of the $150 plan.
Gillette hail history
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Estimated-size surface See the hail, review your recommendations, and canvass with Overview on iPhone.
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