A 'hailacious' anniversary: Central Texas' spring storm season
The spring season is also when Central Texas has its unofficial fifth season. If you have lived here for any appreciable time you know some refer to that season as the "spring storm season."
AUSTIN (KXAN) -- The spring season is also when Central Texas has its unofficial fifth season. If you have lived here for any appreciable time you know some refer to that season as the "spring storm season."
It's the time of the year when our area has its greater risk for severe thunderstorms and tornadoes. It's also a time when we have the most hail. As we look back in history, we find that a great majority of spring's historical footnotes are hail-related.
The "anniversary to forget" happens March 25, as it's this day when Austin has had its three worst hail storms.
The first of these happened on March 25, 1993 when hail up to the size of medium hen eggs and limes battered in northern and western parts of Austin. The damage? Amounted to $125 million.
March 25 storm No. 2 happened in 2005 and featured a hail storm that deposited stones as large as 2" (equivalent to a medium hen egg or limes) across a large section of the city. The hail caused $100 million worth of damage.
Four years later, on March 25, 2009, storm No. 3 bombarded the city during the evening rush hour with hail stones measuring up to 1.75" in diameter (or golf ball-sized) to 3.50" (the size estimated to be that of a large apple to just below softball-sized). The National Weather Service reported softball-sized hail was also seen in Bastrop, with the only damage coming from a broken car windshield.
The damages from this storm? $160 million. At the time it was the costliest hail storm, and still is for this particular date.
Ironically, the costliest hail storm in this area did not happen in spring, but rather in early autumn, on September 24, 2023. On that Sunday night, hail in Round Rock was estimated to be the size of softballs (4.0"), while hail larger than baseballs (around 2.75") were reported in north Austin and Pflugerville.
It has been estimated that losses due to the hail busting windshields and other damage totaled as much as $300 million in Travis County and the same in Williamson County. The dollar figures were estimates because insurance companies were not sharing that information.
Fortunately, this March 25 was forecast to start with rain and non-severe thunderstorms followed by a quiet afternoon.