WATCH: Baseball-sized hail caves in windshield during Texas storm chase
Video captured the moment hail up to 3 inches wide pounded a storm chaser’s vehicle in Texas, leaving deep craters in the windshield and glass shards on the dashboard.
A tornado-warned supercell crept along west of Amarillo, dropping grapefruit- to DVD-sized hailstones right into windshields on June 23.
Massive hail turned a storm chase into a scramble for safety in Texas on Tuesday when pounding ice smashed into a vehicle carrying two storm chasers and left the windshield caved in.
Storm chaser Aaron Rigsby was in Texas filming the severe thunderstorm he was tracking when it unleashed hail up to 3 inches in diameter, forcing them to pull over.
"Cover your eyes!" one of the storm chasers yelled in the video as hail hammered the car. Some glass shards flew across the dashboard, but the windshield did not give way completely.
A view out the front windshield of a vehicle after a severe storm unleashed baseball-sized hail. (Aaron Rigsby/CorClips)
Windshields are made with a layer of laminated safety glass, which prevents the window from shattering when extreme hail impacts the car.
After the storm passed, the pair stepped out to inspect the damage.
"That is a crater," Rigsby said as he looked at the deep dents left in the windshield.
A large dent left in a windshield by baseball-sized hail in Texas on June 23, 2026. (Aaron Rigsby/CorClips)
Hailstones measuring 2.75 to 3 inches across are about the size of baseballs and were reported in the area in the wake of the severe weather. One of the stones also shattered the vehicle’s side mirror.
Even though the windshield held, the video is an example of how driving through severe weather can quickly turn dangerous.
Report a Typo
