Yes, but only barely: NOAA's Severe Weather Data Inventory shows radar detected hail-bearing cells within 10 miles of Aliso Viejo that day, with the largest stone sized at about 0.5 inches, a size that rarely marks a sound asphalt roof on its own.
What actually happened on March 18 2024
According to NOAA's Severe Weather Data Inventory, radar logged 4 hail cells over the region on 18 March 2024. That is a count of storm detections, not a count of roofs affected. The nearest of those cells sat about 6.8 miles from the center of Aliso Viejo, which is close enough to matter but far enough that conditions on the ground could have differed block to block.
The largest stone the radar captured that day was sized at about 0.5 inches. That is roughly the size of a pencil eraser. It is a real number from a real detection, not a guess, but it describes what the storm carried aloft, not what hit any specific driveway or roof deck.
Does a radar detection mean hail actually fell on my house
No. Radar detection means a storm cell over the area carried hail aloft. It is not a measurement of what landed on any particular street. NEXRAD samples the atmosphere above the ground, not the ground itself, so a cell 6.8 miles away could have dropped stones in one neighborhood and nothing a mile over.
That gap is exactly why the storm record for Aliso Viejo and ground reports do not always agree. A radar hit confirms a hail-producing storm existed nearby on that date three years ago. It does not confirm hail reached a specific roof, and it does not tell you how hard any stone that did fall was moving.
What 0.5 inch hail does and does not do to a roof
Stones under about three quarters of an inch rarely mark a sound asphalt roof on their own. At 0.5 inches, the stone from the 18 March 2024 detection falls well under that threshold. On shingles that are flat, well-sealed, and not already brittle, that size typically bounces off without breaking the mat or knocking off enough granules to matter.
The exception is anything already compromised. Lifted shingle tabs, cracked seals around flashing, or brittle spots from UV exposure can get opened up further even by small hail. So the honest read on this detection is low risk for a newer, intact roof, and worth a second look only if the roof already had problems before that date.
How to check if this storm affected your specific roof
Start by thinking about the roof's condition going into March 2024, not just the storm itself. If the roof was newer and in good shape, a 0.5 inch stone from a cell 6.8 miles off is unlikely to have done meaningful damage. If the roof already had lifted tabs or cracked sealant, this storm is a plausible point where small problems got worse.
The storm record for Aliso Viejo gives the dates and detection data, but only a look at the actual shingles tells you what happened on your roof. If you want a contractor's read on it, put in a request and local contractors who cover your ZIP code can take a look, with up to 3 able to respond to any single request.