A hailstorm outside Eads, Colorado, shows just how quickly severe weather can become dangerous.
Footage recorded from inside a Fox Weather vehicle shows baseball-sized hail hammering the glass, cracking the windshield and hitting storm tracker Brandon Copic hard enough to make him yelp and flinch in pain.
Here's what to know
On Sept. 21, Fox Weather (@FoxWeather) posted a TikTok of the storm battering Copic's vehicle. Repeated strikes can be seen as the windshield starts to splinter under the impacts.
During the video, Copic can be heard saying, "Oh! Right on the hand!" and later adding, "Took a baseball to the hand."
In its caption, Fox Weather said the storm has been under a 2-out-of-5 severe storm risk.
One commenter who had also experienced the storm wrote, "Two windshields smashed. I'm west of Eads. Everyone around us has damaged cars. This is exactly what it sounded like."
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More background
In a matter of moments, visibility, safety, and property can all be compromised in a storm.
When hail reaches baseball size, it can shatter windows, dent vehicles, damage roofs, and seriously injure anyone caught outside. It can also put drivers at risk, damage homes and businesses, destroy crops, and leave families facing repair bills, insurance claims, missed work, and unsafe conditions.
Issues like a broken windshield can also become a longer-term traffic hazard, an emergency expense, or cause the loss of transportation needed for work, school, or medical care.
If severe weather is possible, get inside a sturdy building and stay away from windows until the storm passes. More broadly, though, better forecasting, strong warning systems, and clear public communication all help reduce harms.
Storm trackers, meteorologists, and local emergency officials play an important role in showing people what is coming and how severe it may become.
Where can I learn more?
These stories show how hailstorms are damaging communities in Colorado and beyond. They cover worsening hail risks, destructive storms, and the damage hail can do to cars, roads, and crops.
• Across the Texas Panhandle, frequent baseball-sized hailstorms are battering communities and alarming forecasters.
• Researchers warn global warming could bring more golf ball-sized hail to vulnerable communities.
• In Colorado's fruit-growing region, tens of thousands of pounds of crops were destroyed by hail.
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