Wind and Water and Hail--Oh My!!

Well, that was fun...NOT!!  Shown below is the hail that the Frog picked up off the floor in the living room after it went through the skylight a little after 8 pm on Sunday, March 26.

Hail that came through the skylight

Fortunately it missed hitting him, although only barely.   The shards of plastic from the skylight were everywhere, even in the hall in front of the bathroom.  Looking from below the following morning we could see at least three different holes in the skylight.

Looking at the skylight from below the following morning

Some of the shards from the skylight, collected before trashing them.

Of course, if it had only been those three hits, it would not have been nearly as scary as it was in real time.  The roof was continually pelted for what seemed like forever and it was really loud.

Sound of a freight train.  Before the storm hit we knew there were storms in the area.   The TV reports showed storms to the west with very large hail.  Based on the real-time track on radar, we thought the storm was going to miss us to the north. We opened the front door to take a look and it sounded like a freight train.  We had always heard people describe tornadoes in that way, but had never experienced it ourselves.  In retrospect, we now realize that even though the hail had not yet reached us, the sound we heard was likely hail hitting things.

A barrage of hail.  We went inside, still hoping the storm was going to miss us.  We started hearing the loud thuds on the roof.  Then it got worse, much worse.  The hail came through the skylight, the car alarm on a car across the street went off, my car alarm went off and the hail just kept coming.  Then the rain started with a vengeance.   The rain gauge later indicated 0.69 inches, but that all fell in a matter of minutes.

It seemed like the hail storm lasted forever but later, looking at the surveillance cameras (both of which got hit by hail but survived), it appears it lasted for only about 10 minutes.  Fortunately most of the rain did not come until the latter part of the event.  By that time we were able to move furniture and spread out plastic to prevent significant water damage in the living room.

After the storm had passed there were many hail stones still scattered about.  We did not notice until the next day the many craters they had made in the yard, especially on the north side of the front yard.

Hail on the grass in the front yard after the storm.  This was mostly in the dark and I did not notice the divot on the right until looking at the picture the next day.

Car damage.  We had heard the RAV's car alarm go off multiple times and could see from the house that the windshield was cracked.  After it stopped raining we discovered the rear view mirror had been knocked off, the visors had flipped down, and the interior lights were on (apparently because they are activated by push buttons above the windshield). 

 

We could not see the dents in the body until the next day in the light, but there are many.

Patio roof.  The lathe on the patio roof also took a beating.

Multiple slats were broken into pieces and lying on the patio.

Veggie garden.  It was hardly of concern, compared to the house and car, but I assumed the vegetable garden would be decimated.  I was finally able to see it in detail the following morning.  Overall it was not too bad.  Many leaves, especially the broccoli leaves, had holes.

Holes in the broccoli leaves from the hail

Entire branches had been ripped off some of the broccoli, kale, tomato, and pepper plants.  Some of the smaller plants had been beaten down and/or torn apart, some of the onion tops were shredded, and there were multiple divots of varying size throughout the garden.

However, the most unusual damage was to one of the marigold plants.  Three of the four marigold plants in one square appeared unscathed.  However one of the plants looked as if it had exploded, with petals scattered about.

Marigolds shredded from direct hit by the hail.  The pieces are where I found them and have not been moved. 

Where one of the yellow marigold plants had previously been, there was a perfectly symmetrical crater that was several inches across and nearly 5 inches deep.

Crater in the marigolds

TV Antenna.  The top most part of the TV antenna is now at a 45 degree angle from the bottom part of the shaft.  I suspect it would have totally broken off if not for the support of the crepe myrtle.

The antenna pole is vertical along the left side of most of the chimney, but near the top is bent sharply to the right with the top of the antenna nearly sideways and supported by the crepe myrtle..

Size of the hail.  We don't know for sure the size of the hail stones hitting our house, but even the pieces that made it into the living room were the largest hail I had ever seen.  The Frog picked up one piece from the front porch that to us seemed to be tennis ball size.   There were many craters in the yard that were several inches in diameter.

Hail stone on the front porch

A tennis ball is about 2.5 inches in diameter.  Hail of that size is consistent with what was later reported by the National Weather Service.

In fact, at least one place near us reported hail greater than 4".  I guess spring storms are just part of living in north Texas, but this is one kind of March madness I can do without.