Hailstorm Safety

• When driving into a hailstorm, find a safe place to pull over and turn your vehicle so the hail will hit the windshield. The safety glass in the windshield will help protect you.
• In a building, stay away from windows!
• If you are outside, seek shelter immediately! Hail of any size can be dangerous when pelted in high winds.
• If you can’t protect your entire body, at least try to protect your head. Many hailstorm related deaths are due to being struck in the head with a hail stone.
• If weather conditions are prime for a storm, move cars, boats, RVs, and lawn and patio furniture into a covered area.

These hard, frozen nuggets are formed when raindrops pass through a belt of cold air which causes them to freeze on their way to earth. Hail most commonly causes damage to property, vehicles and crops; more than $1 billion in damage each year. Considering the fact that large stones can fall at speeds faster than 100 mph, it’s important that you cover your head and learn what to do when hail is present. 

On May 5, 1995, an isolated severe thunderstorm developed ahead of an already intense squall line in Fort Worth and injured over 100 people and was the costliest thunderstorm in U.S. history. Cars were pummeled with grapefruit-sized hail, vegetation was totally stripped from the trees and shrubs, and rain poured down at a rate of as much as three inches in thirty minutes, causing massive flash flooding. The storm cost billions of dollars—a figure once reserved only for major hurricane damage.