Hail — Palo Pinto, Texas

2008-04-17 · near Mineral Wells, Palo Pinto, Texas

Event narrative

Tennis ball-size hail broke windows, damaged vehicles, and downed power and cable lines. The Palo Pinto General Hospital sustained about $400,000 damage to its roof. The Wal-Mart in town had every skylight broken which resulted in water damage. Mineral Wells High School sustained heavy damage to its roof and also to its new outdoor stadium and bleachers. Numerous city vehicles as well as private vehicles and residences received damage from the large hail. Car dealerships reported damage to 8,000 cars in the metroplex. Most of the damage in Palo Pinto County occurred in a west to east swath north of Highway 180. One woman was injured when she was hit in the head with a large hailstone but did not seek medical attention.

Wider weather episode

A potent supercell developed during the afternoon and moved eastward along a cold front. This storm was responsible for hail as large as baseballs as it moved across Jack, Stephens, Palo Pinto, Parker, and Tarrant Counties. A squall line developed along the southward moving cold front later that evening, producing a few reports of thunderstorm winds and large hail.

View location on OpenStreetMap → (32.8161, -98.1241)

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 88803. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.