Did It Hail in Denver Last Night? How to Check Your Address in 30 Seconds

It rained hard. Maybe you heard something hit the roof. Or a neighbor mentioned hail. Or you just woke up and want to know before you go to work.

Here is the fastest way to find out whether hail actually hit your Denver property last night — and more importantly, whether it was large enough to matter.

The Fastest Method: Free Address Lookup

HailScore pulls live MRMS radar data that updates within hours of a storm. Enter your Denver address and you will see:

Whether any hail event was recorded near your property recently

The documented hail size for each event

The distance from the storm center to your specific address

This takes 30 seconds. No signup. No cost.

The data comes from NOAA's Multi-Radar Multi-Sensor (MRMS) system — the same national composite radar network used by the National Weather Service and FEMA. It is not estimated or extrapolated. It is actual radar return data from hailstone detection.

What Hail Size Means for Your Roof

Not all hail causes the same damage. Here is the practical reference:

| Hail Size | Reference | Roof Impact |

|-----------|-----------|-------------|

| Under 1 inch | Marble | Minimal. Watch for granule loss in gutters. |

| 1 inch | Quarter | Moderate granule loss on older roofs. Significant on 15+ year asphalt. |

| 1.25 inches | Half-dollar | Likely shingle damage on most asphalt roofs. |

| 1.5 inches | Walnut | High probability of functional damage. Schedule inspection. |

| 1.75 inches | Golf ball | Significant damage on all asphalt shingles. File a claim. |

| 2+ inches | Egg/baseball | Severe. Potential structural deck damage. |

If last night's event shows 1 inch or larger near your address, you have reason to get a professional inspection — even if you see no obvious interior damage. Hail damage to asphalt shingles is almost never visible from the ground.

How MRMS Radar Detects Hail

MRMS uses dual-polarization Doppler radar to distinguish between rain, hail, and mixed precipitation. The system looks at how the radar beam is reflected by precipitation particles — round raindrops reflect differently than irregular hailstones.

The output is a national composite updated continuously, with resolution fine enough to distinguish hail tracks at the neighborhood level. When HailScore shows a 1.5-inch hail event 0.3 miles from your address, that measurement is derived from federal radar data, not an eyewitness report.

Why "I Didn't See Any Hail" Does Not Mean It Did Not Hail

Denver storms are fast-moving and spatially variable. A storm track that produces 1.5 inches of hail in Washington Park may drop zero hail a mile away in Capitol Hill. The reverse is also common — a storm that looks minor from your window may be producing significant hail two blocks away.

Additionally, hail at night is often not seen or heard clearly. Window AC units, rain noise, and sleep all mask the sound of hail hitting a roof. Plenty of Denver homeowners discover they were hit only when they pull the storm data.

What to Do If Last Night's Storm Hit Your Property

1. Check your HailScore immediately. Get the specific hail size and storm date documented. Check your address now.

2. Do a quick exterior walk-around. Look at gutters, window screens, and any soft metal (HVAC caps, vent covers, painted wood trim). Dents and dings on these surfaces are the fastest ground-level indicator that hail was significant.

3. If the data shows 1" or larger nearby, schedule a free inspection. Do not climb on the roof yourself. A qualified inspector can identify bruising and granule displacement that is invisible from the ground.

4. Photograph everything before any contractor touches the property. This documentation protects you in a claim.

5. Do not wait. Colorado's insurance filing window is typically 1-2 years from the storm date. The clock started last night.

Denver Hail Context

Denver proper sees hail events multiple times per year. The city's elevation of 5,280 feet means hailstones retain their size longer before melting than at sea level. The urban core, while somewhat insulated from the most extreme Palmer Divide events to the south, still sits in the path of significant storm tracks along the I-25 and I-70 corridors.

In active hail seasons — 2018, 2019, 2023 — multiple events producing 1 inch or larger hail have been recorded across Denver neighborhoods including Capitol Hill, Park Hill, Washington Park, Stapleton (Central Park), Five Points, and Montbello.

Check your Denver address now to see your full storm history and whether last night's event was one worth acting on.

If you need an official PDF with NOAA source citations for an insurance claim, order the storm-history report for $9.95 — delivered to your inbox in about 60 seconds.