Posted on 06/19/2025 8:09:12 AM PDT by Ahithophel
A surge of supercell thunderstorms over the last week has pummeled Wyoming, Montana and Colorado with golf ball- to baseball-sized hail that’s obliterated windshields, tore pieces off of homes and killed wildlife.
Haden Wichman was branding calves near Kolin, Montana, on Saturday evening when he saw dark storm clouds on the horizon.
“We went up the road to watch it, because we knew the big white cloud was going to come down the creek bottom,” he told Cowboy State Daily. “It was like a flash flood of golf ball-sized hail and 2 inches of rain that came with it.”
After 30 minutes of heavy rain and hail, the skies cleared and Wichman ventured back out to his property. That's when he came across a shocking sight: a battered hawk that had been caught up in the furious hailstorm.
“It was sitting right by the gate, all hunched over,” he said. “I could see that the feathers on his wings were all broken. He wasn’t able to fly.”
(Excerpt) Read more at cowboystatedaily.com ...
That poor hawk :(
I’ve seen pictures when a hail storm kills a bunch of ducks and geese. I always wondered if a turkey is getting pummeled by a storm, does it fly down to the ground?
I think you’re kidding...lol.
Turkeys are not high flyers and only make short spurts of flight.
As God is my witness, I thought turkeys could fly
Normally when we get a story about hail, it talks about “softball sized” hail. So I guess this is an improvement?
No, as in when they are roosting at night and sleeping and a storm comes upon them.
I live in tornado Alley and I’ve only ever actually witnessed quarter size hail. Some of these reports just seem fantasy to me, I mean softball size? C’mon. Might as well say basketball size, or beach ball size human killers. Scare everyone really good.
Superdupermacromegastormcells....we’re all gonna die!!
Gosh! Hope no solar panels were damaged /s
I got caught up in similar hail back in Colorado Springs back in 1979.
I was a photography buff and had a brand new Nikon 35mm and a storm over the Rockies was forming. Prettiest colored clouds I ever saw—yellow, green, blue and some violet. I wanted to get pictures, so I drove out East of Peterson AFB many miles to get Pikes Peak in the lens with all the storm in it.
I realized a hailstorm was coming so drove back at speed.
The hail hit me at 75MPH plus its own velocity. Broke thru all the glass and beat the hell out of my bed and hood.
The worst part?
The USAF Security Police at the gate telling me I could drive my truck without a proper windshield! There was hail laying all over the ground along the security checkpoint, and the roof was half stove in, and that’s all this punk could thing to say? I got in anyways.
Insurance got my glass replaced and body bondo’ed and painted, but after about five years my truck’s paintjob looked like crap so I gave the truck to my brother and bout a new one.
I think it was about 15-20 years ago. I was north bound on I-65 somewhere in southern Kentucky. Stormy weather.
Ahead, I noticed a huge number of cars pulled off the road on both sides of the Interstate.
When I got closer I noticed nearly every car had busted front and rear windshields and some had broken side windows.
Ground was covered in golf ball to billiard ball sized hailstones.
I had missed all the fun and excitement by just a few minutes.
Prior to that day, only hailstones that I had seen were about pea sized.
Exactly. Can you imagine the devastation that would come if softball or baseball-sized hail was coming down? The entire area would be leveled and there would be massive carnage from dead animals and probably dead people too. Stories like this are weather disaster porn.
5 Largest Hailstones in the World
The largest is an 8 inch, almost 2 pound ball of ice that fell in South Dakota and the dude who documented it said was bigger when it fell but melted along the way to the local newspaper.
That was my first thought too.
How do solar panels hold up to this type of hail?
I know my brother know lives in Allen, TX has replaced the shingles on his house three times in the last twenty years.
Then he called me to complain that his home owners insurance was going up to $3500/year.
Watch and learn:
Hail Storm Freaks of Nature & largest hail stone ever recorded:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6JbU0dIq70E
When a guy from MN moved here his car was full of dents. He said it had been hit with baseball size hail. The insurance company had totaled the car. They replaced all the windows and drove it for years with all the dents.
“...Bust Windows...”
Grammar no longer exists I suppose. It’s obviously not being taught in journalism schools.....
Hoss
I find it interesting that you decided to drive to the summit of Pike’s Peak to be a lightening rod during a thunderstorm.
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