Weekly Storm Activity Digest: April 9–16, 2026

Week in Review

StormSnipe detected 15 hail events during the April 9–16, 2026 window. The week stayed concentrated across the Upper Midwest, High Plains, and parts of the Great Basin, with the largest hail reported in Wisconsin and several severe cores tracked across Kansas and Iowa. The biggest verified sizes reached 4 inches in Lodi, WI, 3.75 inches in Fall Creek, WI, Mahaska, KS, and Narka, KS, and 3.5 inches in Elma, IA.

Address exposure varied sharply by event. Meriden, IA carried the heaviest population count in the week at 3,910 addresses. Narka, KS followed with 862 addresses, then Cresco, IA with 644, Elma, IA with 521, Courtland, KS with 361, Mahaska, KS with 160, Big Lake, TX with 133, and Fall Creek, WI with 39. Several events were isolated hail cores with no listed addresses, including Orovada, NV, Fernley, NV, Lodi, WI, Watertown, WI, Nerstrand, MN, and Avoca, TX.

Most detections came from dual-polarization radar. One event in Meriden, IA was radar and spotter verified. For contractors, the week produced a mix of rural hail tracks and several higher-count targets in Iowa and Kansas, plus a cluster of large hail across Wisconsin.

Notable Events

Lodi, WI – April 14 – 4 inches – 0 addresses

Lodi produced the largest hail reported this week. The event was radar-derived and carried no listed addresses. Even without address exposure, a 4-inch hail core points to a strong roof and exterior inspection target along the hail track and surrounding warning area.

Fall Creek, WI – April 13 – 3.75 inches – 39 addresses

Fall Creek combined large hail with a small but non-zero exposure count. The event was detected by dual-polarization radar and included 39 addresses. This is the kind of compact target where quick canvassing can matter, especially for roofing, gutters, and window screen damage.

Mahaska, KS – April 11 – 3.75 inches – 160 addresses

Mahaska produced 3.75-inch hail with 160 addresses in the warning area. That size places it among the stronger Kansas hail events of the week. The address count gives it enough footprint to support a focused canvass zone rather than a broad county-level push.

Narka, KS – April 11 – 3.75 inches – 862 addresses

Narka was one of the week’s highest-exposure hail events. The storm was radar-derived and reached 3.75 inches with 862 addresses in the warning area. That combination supports a wider field response, especially where the path crossed residential roofs, detached structures, and farm property.

Courtland, KS – April 11 – 3.25 inches – 361 addresses

Courtland added another Kansas target the same day. The hail size reached 3.25 inches, with 361 addresses in the warning area. Contractors working Kansas should note the back-to-back timing with Mahaska and Narka, which can compress deployment schedules across multiple nearby targets.

Meriden, IA – April 13 – 2.25 inches – 3,910 addresses

Meriden was the largest address target of the week. The event was radar and spotter verified and produced 2.25-inch hail across 3,910 addresses. The hail size was lower than the week’s largest cores, but the exposure count was the highest by a wide margin. This is the week’s strongest canvassing target by footprint.

Elma, IA – April 14 – 3.5 inches – 521 addresses

Elma generated 3.5-inch hail with 521 addresses in the warning area. It followed the Meriden event by one day and kept Iowa active across a second cycle. The hail size and exposure count both support a direct inspection push.

Cresco, IA – April 14 – 2.75 inches – 644 addresses

Cresco produced 2.75-inch hail with 644 addresses. The event sits below the largest hail sizes of the week but still covers a meaningful address base. For contractors, this is a practical follow-up target when crews are already staged in northeast Iowa.

Watertown, WI – April 14 – 2.75 inches – 0 addresses

Watertown was another Wisconsin hail core with no listed address exposure. Even with zero addresses in the warning area, the hail size keeps it on the radar for rural inspection routes and agricultural or outbuilding work.

Orovada, NV and Fernley, NV – April 10 – 3 inches and 2.5 inches

Nevada produced two Orovada detections at 3 inches and one Fernley event at 2.5 inches, all radar-derived and all with zero listed addresses. These are low-exposure hail tracks, but they remain relevant for rural service calls and scattered property checks.

Big Lake, TX and Avoca, TX – April 13 – 2.5 inches

Texas closed the week with two hail detections in the same general timeframe. Big Lake carried 133 addresses and 2.5-inch hail. Avoca reached 2.5 inches with no listed addresses. The Texas activity was limited compared with the Midwest clusters, but Big Lake offers a usable mid-sized target.

Regional Patterns

Wisconsin emerged as the main large-hail state this week. Lodi, Fall Creek, Nerstrand, and Watertown all registered significant hail, with Lodi reaching 4 inches. The state produced a mix of zero-address rural cores and smaller target zones with modest exposure. For contractors, that means fewer broad metro canvass plays and more point-by-point routing.

Kansas posted the strongest combination of size and address volume. Mahaska, Narka, and Courtland all fell on April 11, with hail from 3.25 to 3.75 inches and a combined address footprint above 1,300. That kind of multi-event cluster supports crew staging in the region rather than isolated dispatches.

Iowa was the highest-value state for address count. Meriden, Elma, and Cresco all produced actionable targets, and Meriden alone reached 3,910 addresses. The sequence from April 13 to April 14 gives Iowa the week’s most important canvass window.

Nevada saw two isolated hail cores around Orovada and one in Fernley. The hail sizes were meaningful, but the exposure was limited. Texas produced only two detections, with Big Lake carrying the larger address count.

What Contractors Should Watch

Focus first on Meriden, IA. The 3,910-address footprint makes it the week’s largest canvass opportunity. Elma and Cresco should stay on the same route plan in northeast Iowa. The April 13 to April 14 timing suggests a narrow deployment window across the state.

Kansas crews should treat Mahaska, Narka, and Courtland as a grouped deployment area. Narka’s 862 addresses and Mahaska’s 160 addresses justify a broader canvass push, while Courtland can be worked as a secondary target on the same route.

Wisconsin deserves a separate field plan. Lodi’s 4-inch hail and Fall Creek’s 3.75-inch hail are the largest individual hail reports in the digest. Even where address counts were low, the hail size points to roof, gutter, and siding checks across the hail track.

Smaller zero-address detections in Orovada, Fernley, Avoca, and parts of Wisconsin still matter for rural work. They are not broad canvass targets, but they can support selective inspection routes, insurance follow-up, and agricultural property checks.

The coming week opens with a storm setup that remains favorable for additional hail across the central and northern Plains into the Upper Midwest.