Hail — El Paso, Texas

2009-09-16 · near Socorro, El Paso, Texas

Injuries

$100.0M

Property damage

Magnitude

Event narrative

Far east El Paso was hardest hit by this second supercell, with extensive golfball to possibly tennis ball size hail falling for 20 minutes. Thousands of automobiles were damaged, with several dealerships suffering much loss. Skylights were destroyed, roofs damaged and windows broken on thousands of buildings. Several injuries were reported from hailstones as well.

Wider weather episode

A back door front pushed southwestward into far west Texas while an upper level low was dropping southward into eastern Arizona. A veering vertical shear profile with sufficient low level moisture and instability led to 2 supercells forming in the El Paso area. These storms were prolific hail producers. The second supercell produced extensive golfball to possibly tennis ball size hail over a large area of commerce. The damage estimate of $150 million makes this easily the most costly hailstorm in the NWS El Paso County Warning Area since records began.

View location on OpenStreetMap → (31.7323, -106.2845)

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 197009. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.