Research Past Weather at Your Address

Published 2026-07-15 · Updated 2026-07-15

Understanding past weather events at a precise location is crucial for property owners, contractors, and researchers. StormAuditor provides comprehensive historical weather reports to help you investigate hail, wind, and severe weather occurrences.

Introduction

When a property sustains damage, pinpointing the weather conditions at that exact location on a specific date is a critical step in understanding what might have occurred. Whether you're a property owner, contractor, insurance adjuster, or legal professional, historical weather research provides valuable context. StormAuditor specializes in compiling detailed weather data for any U.S. address and date, offering insights into severe thunderstorms, hail, and strong winds.

What Happened: Understanding Weather Events at Your Address

To determine what happened at a specific address, we analyze several key indicators:

  • Severe Thunderstorm Warnings: The National Weather Service (NWS) issues these warnings when severe weather is imminent. A severe thunderstorm is defined by hail of 1.00 inch diameter (quarter-sized) or larger, or wind gusts of 58 mph (50 knots) or greater, or the presence of a tornado. If your property was within a warning polygon, it was in an area considered at risk for these conditions.
  • Hail: Hail size can vary significantly across even small areas. StormAuditor uses advanced radar-derived products to estimate hail size at your location. The official severe hail threshold is 1.00 inch (quarter size). "Significant severe" hail is 2.00 inches (hen egg) or larger. For reference:
  • 1.00 inch: Quarter
  • 1.75 inch: Golf ball
  • 2.00 inch: Hen egg
  • 2.75 inch: Baseball
  • Wind Gusts: Strong winds associated with thunderstorms or other weather systems can cause significant damage. The NWS severe wind threshold is 58 mph. Winds of 70 mph are considered damaging, and those exceeding 85 mph are in the range of an EF0 tornado. StormAuditor provides estimates of peak wind gusts at your location.

Understanding these elements helps reconstruct the weather footprint for a specific date and address.

How StormAuditor Measures It

StormAuditor leverages multiple authoritative data sources and sophisticated methodologies to provide historical weather insights:

Hail Estimation (SAHE-2)

Our Storm Auditor Hail Estimate v2 (SAHE-2) primarily relies on MRMS MESH (Maximum Estimated Size of Hail) data. This radar-derived product provides high-resolution hail swaths, estimating hail size at a very granular level. If MRMS MESH swaths intersect your property (with a 0.25-mile buffer), this is our primary indicator. We also incorporate SPC (Storm Prediction Center) storm reports from trained spotters and NWS severe thunderstorm warnings to corroborate and supplement these estimates. We report these as ESTIMATES, not direct measurements, as radar can have limitations.

Wind Estimation (SAWE-2.7)

For wind, our Storm Auditor Wind Estimate v2.7 (SAWE-2.7) combines several data points. We integrate daily peak wind gust data from Visual Crossing Weather API for the nearest weather station or reanalysis point to your address. This is cross-referenced with SPC wind reports from human observers and NWS severe thunderstorm warning polygons that intersected your property. These layered data points provide the most comprehensive estimate of wind conditions at your location. Strong winds can be localized, and station data may not fully capture microbursts between stations.

Our "at location" data indicates that the address point falls within a warning polygon or a hail swath (with a small buffer). If no "at location" data is found, we may provide information for nearby distances (1 mile, 3 miles, 10 miles) to offer context. All our outputs are ESTIMATES, not direct measurements.

Limitations

While StormAuditor provides robust historical weather data, it's essential to understand its limitations:

  • Radar Accuracy: Radar-derived hail estimates (MESH) can sometimes under-estimate hail size, especially with wet hail, or over-estimate in very high reflectivity cores. These are estimates based on radar signatures, not direct measurements.
  • Wind Observations: Station-based wind observations are point measurements and may not capture highly localized, intense wind events like microbursts that occur between stations. Therefore, the actual peak gust at a specific property could differ from reported station values.
  • Warning Polygons: NWS Severe Thunderstorm Warning polygons cover a designated geographic AREA for a specific TIME window. While a property within a polygon was under a WARNING, it does not definitively mean that the property experienced the peak severe conditions (e.g., 1.00" hail or 58 mph winds). It means conditions were favorable for such events.
  • No Causation: StormAuditor provides historical weather context. We do not assess causation or specific damage. Determining the cause of damage requires on-site inspection by qualified professionals (e.g., engineers, adjusters).

Related StormAuditor Tools

Explore our tools to conduct your own historical weather research:

FAQ

Q: What is the difference between a weather warning and a weather watch?

A: A watch means conditions are favorable for severe weather to develop in or near the watch area. A warning means severe weather is occurring, imminent, or observed, and you should take immediate action to protect life and property.

Q: How accurate are StormAuditor's hail size estimates?

A: StormAuditor's hail estimates are derived primarily from MRMS MESH, a sophisticated radar product. While highly detailed, these are estimates based on radar signatures, not direct measurements. Radar can have limitations, such as potentially under-estimating wet hail or over-estimating in very high reflectivity cores. We present the best available data, backed by human reports and NWS warnings, but they remain estimates.

Q: Can StormAuditor tell me if my property was damaged by a storm?

A: No, StormAuditor provides historical weather data and estimates for a specific location and date. We do not assess property damage or determine causation. Our reports provide valuable context for meteorologists, adjusters, contractors, and property owners, but on-site inspection by qualified professionals is necessary to determine the cause and extent of any damage.

Q: What does 'significant severe' mean for hail and wind?

A: According to the NWS, "significant severe" applies to even more impactful events than regular severe criteria. For hail, it means hail >= 2.00 inches (hen egg size) or larger. For wind, it means wind gusts >= 75 mph. An EF2+ tornado is also considered significant severe.

Q: Where does StormAuditor get its weather data?

A: We compile data from authoritative sources including NOAA's National Weather Service (NWS) for warnings, SPC (Storm Prediction Center) for storm reports, IEM (Iowa Environmental Mesonet) archives, NCEI Storm Events Database, MRMS MESH via Hail Explorer for radar-derived hail, and Visual Crossing Weather API for station/reanalysis daily conditions. For more details, see our /data-sources page.