Colorado Hail Storm Report, August 22, 2026: Watkins, Brighton and Fort Lupton
August 23, 2026
By Red Hawk Roofing
Preliminary report: based on radar-estimated data and early storm reports. We update every report once complete verified NWS data is available, typically within about 10 days.
A hail-producing storm crossed Colorado on August 22, 2026. The National Weather Service has logged 9 hail reports so far in and around Red Hawk’s service area for that date, the largest at 1.50 inches. Watkins, Brighton and Fort Lupton took the most reports. Report totals typically grow for several days after a storm; this is the picture as of publication.
The Colorado hail map — August 22, 2026
Every hail report in and around Red Hawk’s service area so far
These are National Weather Service Local Storm Reports — hail an observer found on the ground, not a radar estimate. Times are MDT. “Measured” means the stone was physically measured; “reported” means a size category or description was relayed to the NWS — mPING and public descriptions are not measurements.
| Location | Size | Time | Source | Basis |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 SSE Watkins | 1.50" | 2:50 PM | Public | reported |
| 4 SSW Orchard | 1.50" | 4:10 PM | Broadcast Media | reported |
| 3 E Masters | 1.25" | 4:10 PM | Broadcast Media | reported |
| Brighton | 1.25" | 4:34 PM | Public | reported |
| 2 S Arapahoe Park | 1.00" | 2:31 PM | Public | reported |
| 5 SSE Watkins | 1.00" | 2:45 PM | Public | reported |
| Masters | 1.00" | 4:05 PM | Broadcast Media | reported |
| 1 SE Brighton | 1.00" | 4:34 PM | Public | reported |
| 1 W Fort Lupton | 1.00" | 5:25 PM | Public | reported |
By city so far: Watkins 2 reports, Masters 2 reports, Brighton 2 reports, Orchard 1 report, Arapahoe Park 1 report, Fort Lupton 1 report. A hail report always names the largest stone an observer found, not the average size that fell across every roof.
The heaviest hail of the day fell northeast of the metro, along the Weld–Morgan county line. Colorado’s largest report that day came from there — 1.75 inches two miles west-northwest of Jackson Reservoir at 4:25 PM, outside our service area — and the Orchard and Masters reports listed above sit inside radar’s estimated 2.00-inch contour for that same swath, the strongest estimated core anywhere in Colorado on August 22.
Was your address in this one? We'll come look, free.
Schedule My Free Inspectionor call (720) 771-8921
Why 1.50-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 1.50 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.
Frequently asked questions
Was there hail in Watkins on August 22, 2026?
Yes. The National Weather Service has logged 2 hail reports so far in the Watkins area on August 22, 2026. In and around Red Hawk's service area there are 9 reports so far, topping out at 1.50 inches.
How big was the hail on August 22, 2026 in Colorado?
The largest hail reported in and around Red Hawk's service area so far is 1.50 inches. Remember that a hail report names the largest stone found, not what fell across a whole neighborhood.
Which Colorado towns had hail on August 22, 2026?
Reports so far came in from Watkins, Masters, Brighton, Orchard, Arapahoe Park, Fort Lupton.
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.
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 August 22, 2026 (local time), retrieved from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet archive as of August 23, 2026 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.