Hail — Polk, Florida

1996-03-30 · near Lake Wales, Polk, Florida

Wider weather episode

Hail, most the size of baseballs and few the size of softballs, severely damaged the roofs and knocked out windows in nearly 600 homes in Lake Wales. The local fire station reported hail covered the ground nearly six inches deep during the peak of the hailstorm which lasted 15 minutes. Most of the damage was on the north side of homes and buildings. Estimated damage to homes and businesses was nearly $15 million dollars.Hail severely damaged the surfaces and knocked out the windshields of up to 3,000 vehicles in the Lake Wales area. Hail damage to vehicles was estimated at nearly $9 million dollars.Several trees were stripped of leaves and small branches by mostly baseball sized hail in the Lake Wales area.

View location on OpenStreetMap → (27.9000, -81.5800)

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 5575246. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.