Say It Ain’t Snow — That’s Actually Hail Covering Colorado
Hail: It's just like snow, but it hurts. One Colorado town found itself covered in so much hail following a Tuesday afternoon storm, that it was beginning to look a lot like Christmas — in September.
First snow of the season? Not quite. According to KDVR in Denver, the Colorado town of Falcon was covered in two inches of hail on Tuesday evening. So instead of soft, fluffy snowflakes, that's actually just hundreds of thousands (probably millions) of ice balls. That's right, I said 'ice balls.'
Matt Minnillo, @MattBlueThunder on Twitter, documented the storm, showing that there was enough to even make snowballs. Or, hail balls.
Meteorologist Brian Bledsoe said the hail was pea-to-dime size.
From above, Colorado Strom Chasers' photo shows the town looking like a winter morning — not a mid-September afternoon.
Colorado is actually one of the worst states in terms of hail. AAA said that Colorado is one of the most hail-prone states in the U.S. In 2018, AAA reported that a 'record-shattering storm' caused 'more than $2.3 billion in damage to Colorado homes and automobiles,' and sadly, even killed zoo animals.
We all know hail dings on vehicles are just cosmetically a bummer, but driving in hail can be really, really dangerous as well. AAA said that 'if you're in your car when a hailstorm hits and see a safe place close by, such as a garage or car wash, drive to it as soon as you can.' If you can't find shelter, it's best to stop driving, but do pull off the road and try to protect yourself if glass starts breaking. You can read more from AAA here.