How do you find hail storms by address for an insurance claim?
Short answer. Free public sources like NOAA's Storm Events Database, the Storm Prediction Center's daily storm reports and radar-based hail maps show when and where hail fell near an address, and North Georgia homeowners can check northgeorgiahailmap.com by zip code. Insurers and roofers also use commercial address-level hail reports that estimate the largest hail size at a property on each date.
Why the date matters
Every claim needs a date of loss inside your policy period. The wrong date can lead to a denial, a dispute over which storm caused what, or a second deductible. Checking hail history before you report lets you name the right storm.
Free sources
- NOAA Storm Events Database: official records of severe weather, including hail reports by county and date, with sizes when reported.
- Storm Prediction Center storm reports: daily maps and lists of hail, wind and tornado reports from spotters and the public.
- Your local National Weather Service office: warnings and storm summaries for notable events.
- Radar-based hail estimates: NOAA's radar products estimate maximum hail size across a storm's path, which fills gaps between spotter reports.
- northgeorgiahailmap.com: free hail history by Georgia zip code, built from public NOAA and NWS data.
Limits of the data
Spotter reports are sparse; a storm can drop large hail where no one reported it. Radar estimates are estimates, sometimes high or low by a size class. Hail swaths can be narrow, so one side of a neighborhood may be hit hard while the other is spared. Treat the data as support, not proof.
Putting it together
- List possible storm dates near your address.
- Compare with what you remember and when damage appeared.
- Have a roofer match the size and freshness of hits on your roof to the likely date.
- Report that date and keep the supporting records.
More: choosing the date of loss and hail size and roof damage.