Colorado Hail Storm Report, July 2, 2026: Johnstown
August 16, 2026
By Red Hawk Roofing
A hail-producing storm crossed Colorado on July 2, 2026. The National Weather Service logged 3 hail reports inside Red Hawk’s service area that day, the largest at 1.25 inches. Johnstown took the most reports.
The Colorado hail map — July 2, 2026
Every hail report in Red Hawk’s service area
These are National Weather Service Local Storm Reports — hail an observer found on the ground, not a radar estimate. Times are MDT.
| Location | Size | Time | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 E Johnstown | 1.25" | 1:15 AM | Broadcast Media |
| 1 E Johnstown | 1.25" | 2:00 AM | Broadcast Media |
| 2 NE Johnstown | 1.00" | 1:29 AM | Trained Spotter |
By city: Johnstown 3 reports. A hail report always names the largest stone an observer found, not the average size that fell across every roof.
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Why 1.25-inch hail matters to an asphalt roof
Damage scales hard with stone size. A one-inch stone falls at about 41 mph and lands with roughly 1.3 joules of energy. A 1.75 inch stone falls at about 65 mph and lands with roughly 16 joules — about thirteen times the impact. Denver-area elevation adds another 8 to 10 percent to fall speed.
Published impact studies put the onset of functional damage near 1.00 inch for three-tab asphalt shingles, 1.25 inches for architectural shingles, and 2.00 inches for Class 4 impact-rated products. The largest report on this day was 1.25 inches, past the threshold for architectural shingles.
The damage usually is not visible from the ground. Hail bruises the shingle — fracturing the mat beneath a surface that still looks intact — and the bruised area then sheds its protective granules over the following months. A roof hit in June can look fine all summer and start leaking by winter.
Radar-estimated hail is not measured hail
Radar hail algorithms output a deliberate high-end estimate of what may exist inside a storm cloud, not a measurement of what landed on your roof. Radar estimates characteristically run above what observers actually recover. Treat the shaded swath on the map as the search area and the ground reports as the confirmed observations. If a contractor tells you radar showed three-inch hail at your address, ask whether anyone measured it.
What to do if you were under it
- Check from the ground, not the roof. Walking a hail-struck roof is how people get hurt.
- Look in your gutters. Granules washing off in quantity is the most common early sign.
- Check soft metal. Roof vents, gutters, flashing, the mailbox, AC condenser fins. Dents in soft metal date the storm.
- Photograph what you find with your phone. Phone photos carry a timestamp. Do not edit them.
- Get it inspected. Especially if this storm was months ago — that is exactly when bruising starts to surface.
Radar estimate and ground reports by city — July 2, 2026
The map above is the search area. This table asks two narrower questions for each Red Hawk service-area city: did any NWS ground report come from inside the city’s actual boundary, whatever locality name the NWS filed it under; and did a radar-estimated hail band of 1.00 inch or larger cross that boundary? A ground report is an observation and always lists the city. The band is an MRMS estimate, not a measurement.
| City | Radar estimate | Share of the city under it | Ground reports inside it | Boundary used |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Johnstown | 1.50" est. | 8% (southeast part) | none | city limits |
| Milliken | 1.00" est. | 9% (north part) | 1 report, 1.00″ (reported) | city limits |
| Greeley | 1.00" est. | 7% (west part) | none | city limits |
Radar estimated hail to 1.50 inches over part of Johnstown (about 8 percent of it, in its southeast part); the 1.00 inch band covered about 23 percent of it. On the ground, three National Weather Service hail reports named Johnstown (“1 E Johnstown”, “1 E Johnstown”, “2 NE Johnstown”), the largest 1.25 inches (measured), but the report points lie outside the city boundary.
Radar estimated hail to 1.00 inch over part of Milliken (about 9 percent of it, in its north part). On the ground, one National Weather Service hail report came from inside the Milliken city limits: 1.00 inch (reported). That report was logged by the NWS under the locality name “2 NE Johnstown”. That report plots within 0.5 miles of the Milliken boundary (see the note below).
Radar estimated hail to 1.00 inch over part of Greeley (about 7 percent of it, in its west part). No ground observer reported from Greeley that day — reports come from where people happen to be, and their absence is not evidence that nothing fell.
Where a report is marked above, its point plots within 0.5 miles of the city line it was placed across. An NWS report position is not surveyed: it is quoted to two decimal places and is derived from a whole-mile distance on a 16-point compass, so a point that close to a line cannot be resolved to one side of it. Those reports are still listed, because they are the National Weather Service record; only the city they are credited to is left open. City boundaries are the U.S. Census Bureau TIGER/Line 2025 place limits; Denver neighborhoods use the City and County of Denver’s statistical neighborhood polygons. A city is listed if any NWS ground report came from inside that boundary, or if a 1.00 inch or larger radar band crosses it; a ground report is never left off for the size of the radar estimate. The 0.50 inch band also crossed 7 other service-area cities with no ground report inside them; those are not listed because hail under one inch rarely damages asphalt shingles and a radar band that small is an estimate below that threshold.
Hail duration, warnings and wind
The same system produced 3 Colorado wind reports that day, the strongest 64 mph at 5 S Burlington. Wind damage and hail damage look different on a roof and are assessed separately.
Frequently asked questions
Was there hail in Johnstown on July 2, 2026?
Yes. The National Weather Service logged 3 hail reports in the Johnstown area on July 2, 2026. Across Red Hawk's service area there were 3 reports that day, topping out at 1.25 inches.
How big was the hail on July 2, 2026 in Colorado?
The largest hail reported inside Red Hawk's service area was 1.25 inches. Remember that a hail report names the largest stone found, not what fell across a whole neighborhood.
Which Colorado towns had hail on July 2, 2026?
Reports came in from Johnstown.
Could my roof still have damage from this storm?
Yes. Hail bruising fractures the shingle mat beneath a surface that still looks intact, and the bruised area sheds granules over the following months. Damage from a storm earlier in the season is often only becoming visible now, which is exactly why it is worth checking.
How do I check my roof for hail damage?
From the ground, never by climbing up. Look for granules collecting in gutters and at downspout outlets, and dents in soft metal such as roof vents, gutters, flashing, the mailbox and AC condenser fins. Soft-metal dents matter most because they date the storm.
Were there damaging winds in Colorado on July 2, 2026?
Yes. The National Weather Service logged 3 wind reports in Colorado on July 2, 2026, the strongest 64 mph at 5 S Burlington. Wind and hail damage a roof differently — wind lifts and creases shingles along edges and ridges, hail bruises the field.
Was there hail in Milliken on July 2, 2026?
Radar estimated hail to 1.00 inch over part of Milliken (about 9 percent of it, in its north part). On the ground, one National Weather Service hail report came from inside the Milliken city limits: 1.00 inch (reported). That report was logged by the NWS under the locality name “2 NE Johnstown”. That report plots within 0.5 miles of the Milliken boundary. An NWS report position is quoted to two decimal places and is built from a whole-mile distance on a 16-point compass, so a point that close to a line cannot be resolved to one side of it.
Was there hail in Greeley on July 2, 2026?
Radar estimated hail to 1.00 inch over part of Greeley (about 7 percent of it, in its west part). No ground observer reported from Greeley that day — reports come from where people happen to be, and their absence is not evidence that nothing fell.
Red Hawk tracks every hail day across the Front Range. See our other storm reports for the rest of the 2026 season.
City-by-city reports and hail histories
Not sure what to look for? Start with what hail damage looks like on a roof and the Colorado hail claim guide.
Red Hawk works Colorado roofs year round. We'll still be here next season.
Schedule My Free Inspectionor call (720) 771-8921
Storm figures are National Weather Service Local Storm Reports for Colorado on July 2, 2026, retrieved from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet archive and de-duplicated. Radar swath analysis by ExoVzn, an independent forensic meteorology firm, using NOAA MRMS data. Impact-energy and damage-threshold figures are from published hail impact research. Storm reports indicate where hail occurred; only a physical inspection establishes whether a specific roof was damaged.