Did you notice? Hail from quarter to golf ball-size fell over portions of North Texas
Hail as large as golf balls fell over sections of North Texas late Thursday night, dinging the tops of homes and vehicles and inspiring residents to post pictures to social media.
Storms were anticipated northwest of the Dallas-Fort Worth region on Thursday night ahead of a cold front, but the probability of hail making it to the Metroplex was low, according to Juan Hernandez, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service. “And that’s what ended up winning,” he said on Friday morning.
A storm that developed near Wichita Falls in West Texas on Thursday night tracked southeast, he said, and dropped hail along a line stretching from Aledo to Burleson between about 10:30 and 11. Although the storm system weakened as it got closer to the DFW region, residents still saw hail ranging from the size of quarters to golf balls.
Farther west in Jack and Young counties, there were reports of hail as large as two and three-quarters inches in diameter, Hernandez said. By the time the storm got to Parker County, he said, it produced hail as large as about one and three-quarters inches.
The largest hail in Tarrant County was one and a quarter inch in the southwestern portion of Fort Worth, he said.
“The hail sizes gradually decreased as they got closer to Fort Worth,” he said. “But it was significant hail nonetheless.”
There were no official reports of hail damage made to the City of Fort Worth on Thursday night, a spokesperson for the office of emergency management said on Friday.
The Tarrant County Office of Emergency Management also didn’t receive any reports of hail damage, a spokesperson said.
Parker County Emergency Management Coordinator Sean Hughes said there were reports of hail as large as golf balls but “we’ve had no reports of significant damage.” It’s likely some residents were dealing with minor damage on Friday, he said.
“I’m sure there are some instances of that, but none of it has been reported to us,” he said. “It’s spring-time in Texas and we can expect hail.”
Some North Texas residents posted photos holding up clusters of hail on Thursday night as the storm tracked along a narrow path. Many saw smaller pea-size hail.
Temperatures in Fort Worth were in the mid-60s on Friday after the cold front moved into the region, according to the weather service.
Hernandez said the cold front also brought windy conditions, and there could be gusts of wind up to 40 miles per hour through around 4 p.m. Friday.
The weekend is expected to be sunny with high temperatures in the mid 70s to around 80. A chance of thunderstorms may return to the forecast on Monday night.
This story was originally published May 8, 2020 at 12:55 PM.
