Record-Breaking Hailstorm Hits Overnight: Stunning Images, Damage Totals, and What Comes Next

Byline: Austin, TX – May 27, 2025 Intro Grapefruit-sized hail — some stones measuring more than 6 inches across — battered parts of Texas and the southern Plains over Memorial Day weekend, smashing windshields, shredding roofs and forcing holiday travelers indoors. The same volatile storm system is forecast to reload this week, threatening new rounds of destructive hail, damaging winds and isolated tornadoes from the Big Country of Texas to the lower Mississippi Valley. How the holiday hail outbreak unfolded • Sunday evening (May 25) – Supercells erupted west of Abilene, dropping 5.5- to 6-inch hail near Afton and Paducah. Storm chasers compared the stones to DVD discs and softballs, and the National Weather Service (NWS) logged at least a dozen reports of hail larger than baseballs. • Overnight into Monday – The storms congealed into a line, blasting Interstate 20 corridor towns such as Sweetwater, Clyde and Cisco with ping-pong-ball to tennis-ball hail that tore siding from homes and punctured skylights. • Farther north – On May 23 a separate supercell cluster over northeast Colorado produced hail up to 3 inches in diameter alongside EF-1 tornado damage, a prelude to the holiday weekend outbreak. Damage snapshot – Auto-body shops from Abilene to Wichita Falls reported hundreds of vehicles with cratered hoods and spider-webbed glass. – Preliminary insurance tallies put residential roof damage in the tens of millions of dollars; adjusters note that stones larger than 2 inches can perforate typical asphalt shingles. – Power outages peaked above 60,000 customers Sunday night as hail-laden downdrafts toppled lines and transformers. Why were the hailstones so large? A slow-moving upper-level trough over the Four Corners pulled in Gulf moisture and enhanced wind shear across West Texas. Updrafts exceeding 100 mph suspended embryonic hailstones for extended periods, allowing them to accrete multiple icy layers before gravity finally won. When surface temperatures hover in the 80s°F, melting is minimal and the stones reach the ground close to their aloft diameter. What’s next? The Storm Prediction Center keeps a slight-to-enhanced risk of severe weather in place today through Thursday from central Texas to western Tennessee. Afternoon heating combined with a stalled frontal boundary will once again favor hail larger than golf balls. Residents are urged to: • Move vehicles into garages or under sturdy awnings. • Stay indoors, away from skylights and windows. • Monitor NOAA Weather Radio and local alerts for rapidly changing warnings. FAQ: Hail safety and recovery Q: When is hail classified as “severe”? A: The NWS defines severe hail as at least 1 inch in diameter (quarter-size), the threshold at which common roofing materials begin to sustain damage. Q: Can homeowners spot hidden roof damage? A: Look for bruised shingles, granule loss in gutters, and daylight visible in attic spaces. Consider a licensed inspector before filing a claim; many insurers impose deadlines. Q: How fast can large hail fall? A: A 2-inch stone can reach 70 mph; 4-inch stones may exceed 100 mph, which is why grapefruit-sized hail can punch through metal and kill livestock. Bottom line Late-May is prime time for Central U.S. hailstorms, and 2025 is delivering on that climatology in dramatic fashion. With more volatile setups on deck, vigilance — and a covered parking spot — will remain essential for millions across the hail belt in the days ahead.