Colorado Hail Storm Report, August 26, 2026: Castle Pines, Parker and The Pinery

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 26, 2026. The National Weather Service has logged 15 hail reports so far in and around Red Hawk’s service area for that date, the largest at 1.25 inches. Castle Pines, Parker and The Pinery 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 26, 2026

Radar hail swath over Colorado on August 26, 2026 with National Weather Service hail reports marked — Radar-estimated hail swath for August 26, 2026, with NWS ground reports marked. Radar analysis by ExoVzn using NOAA MRMS data.

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
2 NW Castle Pines	1.25"	5:00 PM	Public	reported
1 NW Castle Pines	1.25"	5:02 PM	Public	measured
2 ESE Castle Pines	1.25"	5:05 PM	Public	measured
5 SSE Arapahoe Park	1.25"	5:11 PM	CoCoRaHS	reported
3 ENE Greenland	1.00"	3:07 PM	Trained Spotter	measured
2 N Castle Pines	1.00"	5:02 PM	Public	reported
1 ESE Castle Pines	1.00"	5:05 PM	Public	measured
5 SSE Arapahoe Park	1.00"	5:08 PM	Public	measured
5 SSE Arapahoe Park	1.00"	5:11 PM	Public	reported
2 SW The Pinery	1.00"	5:20 PM	Public	reported
3 NE Foxfield	1.00"	6:12 PM	Public	reported
3 W Parker	0.75"	5:12 PM	Public	reported
3 NW Parker	0.75"	5:33 PM	Public	reported
2 NE Wheat Ridge	0.75"	6:25 PM	Public	reported
2 NE Lakewood	0.75"	6:38 PM	Public	reported

By city so far: Castle Pines 5 reports, Arapahoe Park 3 reports, Parker 2 reports, Greenland 1 report, The Pinery 1 report, Foxfield 1 report, Wheat Ridge 1 report, Lakewood 1 report. 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 in and around our service area 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.

For this storm, MRMS radar estimated hail reaching the 2.50 inch contour band, about 1.6 miles from the nearest ground report. The largest stone anyone actually measured on the ground was 1.25 inches. Radar estimates and ground reports measure different things, so they routinely disagree; both are shown here rather than the more flattering one.

Hail duration, warnings and wind

The same system produced 1 Colorado wind report that day, the strongest 46 mph at 3 WSW Oxford. Wind damage and hail damage look different on a roof and are assessed separately.

CoCoRaHS volunteer observers logged 5 Colorado hail observations on this date, the longest running 15 minutes at Littleton 1.5 NE. That network records how long hail fell and what it damaged, which NWS storm reports do not capture.

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 Castle Pines on August 26, 2026?

Yes. The National Weather Service has logged 5 hail reports so far in the Castle Pines area on August 26, 2026. In and around Red Hawk's service area there are 15 reports so far, topping out at 1.25 inches.

How big was the hail on August 26, 2026 in Colorado?

The largest hail reported in and around Red Hawk's service area so far is 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 August 26, 2026?

Reports so far came in from Castle Pines, Arapahoe Park, Parker, Greenland, The Pinery, Foxfield, Wheat Ridge, Lakewood.

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 August 26, 2026?

Yes. The National Weather Service logged 1 wind report in Colorado on August 26, 2026, the strongest 46 mph at 3 WSW Oxford. Wind and hail damage a roof differently — wind lifts and creases shingles along edges and ridges, hail bruises the field.

How long did hail fall in Colorado on August 26, 2026?

CoCoRaHS volunteer observers — a trained precipitation network separate from NWS storm spotters — logged 5 hail observations in Colorado on August 26, 2026. The longest was 15 minutes at Littleton 1.5 NE. CoCoRaHS reports carry duration and damage notes that an NWS report does not.

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 Inspection

or call (720) 771-8921

Storm figures are National Weather Service Local Storm Reports for Colorado on August 26, 2026 (local time), retrieved from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet archive as of August 27, 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.