A recent report by AXIS Capital reveals huge losses to the solar industry due to hail damage, with the average solar hail claim reaching $58 million. Vaisala Xweather is the first to combine traditional radar observations with proprietary lightning data to provide a more precise hail alert up to 60 minutes before the storm hits. A new integration with solar tracking systems enables operators to stow solar panels automatically when a hailstorm approaches.

Vaisala, a global leader in measurement instruments and intelligence for climate action, announces the launch of advanced hail forecast alerts within its Xweather Protect severe weather monitoring platform. The new capability provides solar energy operators with precise, site-specific warnings up to 60 minutes before hailstorms strike, enabling critical asset protection measures that can prevent catastrophic damage to solar installations.

The timing of this launch addresses an urgent industry challenge. According to the IEA Global Energy Review 2025, new renewables installations hit record levels in 2024, with around 700 GW of total renewable capacity added, nearly 80% of which was solar PV. A recent analysis by AXIS Capital reveals that hail damage accounts for 55% of all extreme weather-related solar facility claim costs in the US and Canada, with the average solar hail claim reaching $58 million. Hail damage reported to AXIS alone amounted to $340 million between 2019 and 2024.

"This is a billion-dollar problem for the fast-growing industry. Hail may be impossible to stop, but with the right tools, we can see it coming and act decisively," said Scott Mackaro, Director of Innovation and Forecasting at Vaisala Xweather. "For solar operators, that's the difference between a short-term decrease in output and a multi-million-dollar loss and lengthy downtime."

Transforming hail forecasting through lightning intelligence
Although scientists grasp the theory behind hail formation, the microphysics involved are among the most complex in atmospheric science - short-lived, chaotic, and notoriously difficult to observe. That is why traditional numerical weather models and new AI models alike struggle to make precise predictions. Vaisala Xweather addresses this challenge by leveraging a fundamental meteorological principle: hail always forms in thunderstorms, and where there is hail, there is lightning.

The platform harnesses Vaisala's global lightning detection capabilities. Spikes in lightning activity serve as early indicators of intensifying updrafts that drive hail formation, providing operators with warnings that systems relying solely on radar data cannot match. Combined with radar data and Xweather's proprietary AI-improved forecasting models, the system delivers site-specific hail alerts up to 60 minutes in advance, updated every two minutes.

Automated protection for solar panels during hailstorms
AXIS research demonstrates the dramatic value of effective stow strategies. Successful stow deployments reduce average claims to $150,000 per megawatt, compared with $380,000 per megawatt when tracker systems fail to stow during hail events. One Texas solar project that implemented stowing protocols for hail during 90% of severe storm alerts achieved a 72% reduction in insurance premiums.

Modeling shows that stowing panels at 75 degrees during severe hail events reduces the probability of breakage from 100% to an almost negligible level.

Vaisala partners with multiple solar tracking manufacturers to launch a groundbreaking API integration that helps automatically protect solar assets from catastrophic hail damage. The new Xweather Protect alert API integration enables solar farm operators to automate the process of moving panels to protective stow positions when hail threatens their installations.

"Every second counts when hail approaches," said Jon Previtali, Vice President at VDE Americas, a global leader in technical advisory and catastrophic risk assessment services for the solar power industry. "Though the solar industry has historically had a blind spot for implementing defenses against hail, we now have proof that hail defenses work as intended to prevent losses."