Guide
How to check the weather on your date of loss
Updated October 15, 2026
The date of loss is the day the storm happened, not the day you found the damage. Insurers check it against weather records, so it's worth confirming before you file.
Why the date matters
A claim is checked against the weather on the date you give. If the storm happened on a different day, the records for your date may show nothing, even though the damage is real. Policy start dates and filing deadlines also depend on it.
If you found the damage later
- List the days with storms since the last time you know the roof or property was fine.
- Check Storm Prediction Center storm reports for hail or wind reports near you on each of those days.
- Pick the day with the strongest records closest to the property, and check it in detail.
Watch for storms around midnight
Many NOAA files use UTC time. A storm at 8 pm Central is already the next day in UTC. Always convert to local time before deciding the date. Our report covers the full local day, midnight to midnight, in the property's time zone.
Check more than one source
Storm reports can be missing in rural areas, and stations can be miles away. A stronger picture combines measured gusts at nearby stations, warnings that covered the property, ground reports and radar hail. When they agree on one day, that's your date of loss.
Comparing two possible dates
Order a report for each date and compare them side by side. Each costs $9.99 and shows the same sections, so the difference is easy to see.
Related
- How to get NOAA weather data for an insurance claimStep by step: find storm reports, NOAA Storm Events, station wind measurements, warnings and radar hail for your address and date of loss, all from free public sources.
- How to find the wind speed at an address on a specific dateWind is measured at weather stations, not at every address. How to find the nearest station, read gusts versus sustained wind, and judge how close the measurement is.