Hail reports for rural and remote properties
The farther a property sits from a radar, the higher the beam passes over the storm, and the fewer people there are to report hail. Satellites see every acre the same way.
Updated
For a farm, ranch or rural home, the Skybridge report adds what radar alone can miss: GOES satellite imagery of the storm tops and GLM lightning over your exact area, next to NOAA MRMS hail size and SPC storm reports. From USD 249, in about one business day, with a verification code.
Why radar coverage thins out
A radar beam travels in a straight line while the Earth curves away beneath it, so with distance the beam samples higher and higher in the storm. Terrain blocks it too. The National Research Council described "essentially unavoidable gaps in radar coverage" in complex terrain, and noted the problem is worse for radars in the western United States sited at high altitude (Flash Flood Forecasting Over Complex Terrain, 2005).
Ground reports thin out with population. In open country, a storm can drop hail across miles of fields and leave only a few reports, or none.
What the satellite adds
GOES-19 and GOES-18 image the whole country continuously, and their Geostationary Lightning Mapper records the storm’s electrical activity. The report shows the cloud-top temperature sequence over your area, lightning counts in rings out to 30 km, and the closest flash, beside the radar hail-size estimate and the SPC reports within 50 km. Three independent views of the same storm, for the address on the policy.
- Farms, ranches, barns and equipment yards.
- Mountain and high-plains properties.
- Rural homes and solar arrays far from town.
Ordering
Mark the property, choose the date or a 2–3 day window, and pay by card. From USD 249; larger areas and extra hazards are priced before you pay. See a sample report or compare hail reports.
What to gather for a farm or ranch claim
Rural claims move faster when the weather question is settled early.
- The location of each damaged structure, field or piece of equipment.
- The date you first saw the damage and the dates storms crossed the property.
- Photos with timestamps, before cleanup or repair.
- A satellite report for each location and date, with its verification code.
Dates, windows and areas
Storms on the plains often cross midnight, and on a large property nobody may notice the hail until days later. Choose a window of up to three days around the likely date, and a radius that covers the area you need, from 250 m around a house up to 5 km across a pasture or field. The report states what the satellites recorded across that whole circle, minute by minute.
Every report lists its sources, includes the model wind gust for the day, and is reviewed by a person before it is emailed.
Frequently asked questions
- Do you cover my county?
- Every US address is in view of GOES-19 or GOES-18. Dates go back to January 1, 2018.
- Can I cover a whole field?
- Choose a radius from 250 m up to 5 km around a point; the price for the area is shown before you pay.
- Is the report reviewed?
- Yes. A person reviews every report before it is emailed, and each carries a verification code.