Another hail story from Colorado

[timjake]

A few weeks ago, I posted a picture of 2 inches of hail in my yard, all 1/4/ to 1/2 inch size. ( http://smith-wessonforum.com/lounge/622245-lil-bit-hail.html )

Well, this afternoon, Shriever AFB got hammered by golf ball size hail. Pretty much every vehicle in the parking lot has windows, sun roof, and/or body damage. The pics are of my '07 Azera. You can't see all the dents because it was still raining and everything was all wet.

The hail hit from the rear of the vehicle. Pieces of the rear window and hailstones were on the dash when I got out there to take a look. A couple NCOs helped me tape garbage bags over the broken out areas so I could drive it home.

Definitely a write-off.

 

[Abbynormal]

Hail yes, you got hit!

 

[LoboGunLeather]

For those unfamiliar with the area, Schriever AFB is located on the high plains east of Colorado Springs. The area is subject to very fast moving storm fronts, with violent collisions of high-pressure and low-pressure fronts moving into and away from the mountains. Average annual precipitation for the area is probably ~15 inches or less, but half of that may come within a few hours during these nasty spring and summer storm events.

Over the years I have seen hail in sizes from about a chick-pea to as large as a softball, sometimes arriving with winds of 60 MPH or more driving the hail stones at near-horizontal angles. Anything that is in the open will be severely damaged. Serious injuries to animals and humans can occur.

Very dangerous storms.

 

[llowry61]

I remember a hail storm in Ohio back in the 70's. I was a kid around 10 or 12 years old. Busted several windows on one side of the house, damaged the aluminum siding on 2 sides, ruined the roof and beat the heck out of a 68 Skylark parked in the driveway. Got golf ball to baseball sized hail stones for about 15 minutes. Sounded like the world was coming to an end in that house. I learned all about insurance and deductibles etc. that summer from my dad. The house was pretty much new. we built it in 72. Those kind of things make you realize how fast things can happen and how long it takes to fix them.

 

[glenncal1]

Couple of years ago a bad hail storm in the Springs killed some animals at the zoo and really wiped out the cars in the parking lot.

Cheyenne Mountain Zoo recovering from wild hail storm that killed animals, injured visitors and decimated cars – The Denver Post

 

[HardToHandle]

Ouch!

How did the planes on the static display fare? The beautiful Connie with radome in particular?

 

[Iggy]

I live in Cheyenne WY and we are looking at our 3rd roof replacement of 40 year shingles in 15 years in the house we live in.


State Farm ain't real happy.

 

[coltle6920]

The last big storm in my area (near DIA) was in 2014. It was like LoboGunLeather described.

So many homes looked like someone stood in the yard shooting a shotgun at the house.Mostly newer homes in open areas completely devastated. I live in an older area where the tall trees helped mitigate the damage by blocking a lot of the hail.

There were so many homes severely damaged that insurance companies had to bring in adjusters from out of state.

 

[timjake]

Ouch!

How did the planes on the static display fare? The beautiful Connie with radome in particular?

There aren't any static displays at Schriever. You may be thinking of Peterson AFB which is on the eastern edge of C Springs. Schriever is 8 miles east of C Springs.

 

[Salty RI]

I live in Cheyenne WY and we are looking at our 3rd roof replacement of 40 year shingles in 15 years in the house we live in.


State Farm ain't real happy.

I bet Jake stained his khakis. [emoji1]

Sent from my LGL52VL using Tapatalk

 

[df06]

I just moved from the Colo Springs area. Our insurance company would not cover our home anymore, because of hail risk.

 

[LoboGunLeather]

The last big storm in my area (near DIA) was in 2014. It was like LoboGunLeather described.

So many homes looked like someone stood in the yard shooting a shotgun at the house.Mostly newer homes in open areas completely devastated. I live in an older area where the tall trees helped mitigate the damage by blocking a lot of the hail.

There were so many homes severely damaged that insurance companies had to bring in adjusters from out of state.

Major insurance companies utilize contract adjusters on "CAT Teams" (catastrophe events such as major hail storms, hurricanes, etc). I spent several years doing such work, usually arriving with my travel trailer, computer with satellite link, digital cameras, etc, and remaining on a site for 6 weeks to 4 months or so. Typical workday was 12 to 15 hours with appointments at 60-minute intervals (including driving time), then several hours spent on the computer to upload photos and reports, phone calls for follow-ups and next day scheduling, etc.

Hail storms were usually not too bad, but hurricanes and tornados were another story. I recall several events when I had to drive 50 miles or more to get a tank of gasoline, most road signs and street signs gone, restaurants and grocery stores non-existent, power grids non-functional for extended periods. Every day was a roller coaster ride dealing with families under the most severe stresses of their lives. In some areas the roving gangs of thieves and looters were a constant threat. Several of us would form little cooperative outposts, either in a campground or a mall parking lot, hire a couple of people to keep an eye on our stuff while we ran each day's assignments, shared communications equipment when necessary.

Twenty years ago I handled quite a few of these contract assignments. Pay was beyond great (typically 10K or more per week in fees and expense allowances), and one or two CAT Team jobs per year made me way more than I ever earned as a working cop, but it is not an easy gig by any standard. Every day was an absolute grind, and maintaining a steady friendly and helpful attitude was sometimes a challenge.

Another trip down memory lane.

 

[timjake]

The USAA adjuster came by today to evaluate the car. Got an email about a half hour ago saying it's a total loss (as expected).

So, the plan now is to buy it back as salvage, fix the broken glass, and use it as my work car. As long as it's mechanically sound, I can continue to drive it and let the weather do as it will.

We're looking at getting a nice car for road trips and doing things around town. I've got my eye on a 2019 Volvo S60 T6 (former rental), but have to drive it first to see if it's what we really want.

 

[vigil617]

Wow, you guys are really catching hail out there!

 

[JS Esq.]

Colorado hail is insane. I was an advisor to DOE and working out in Golden during the 2010 stimulus era. I was driving back to DIA to fly home to DC when a storm hit. Golf ball size hail bouncing off the car constantly. I was terrified (1) the windows would give out and (2) that the rental company would charge me for the damage. Fortunately, after a minute or two of getting nailed I was able to pull off under an overpass and wait it out. When storm passed, it looked like it had snowed 3-4 inches.

Remarkably, the car held up and the rental company didn't say a thing when I returned it.

 

[Jeff423]

Years ago a friend of mine was on a trip to Denver. On his way to Stapleton to fly home he passed a dealership that was selling hail damaged cars. He got a good enough deal that he bought the car and drove home (about 12 hrs).

 

[johngalt]

I've read a few hail stories on the Corvette forum. Storms that left metal cars dented didn't damage the Vettes.