It's happened again. Hail stones pummeled Austin early this morning, marking a date with a dark history in the Texas capital city. It's the fourth time since 1993 that Austin has been hammered with hail on March 25.
In addition to 1993, there were hail storms here in 2005, 2009 and now 2021.
"Quite interesting that now we've had four separate hail storms on March 25 in Austin," said Keith White, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service. "Kind of a crazy coincidence."
Paul Yura, warning coordination meteorologist for the NWS, might have been the first to notice the phenomenon. He suggested years ago that March 25 ought to be marked on our calendars as “clean out your garage day,” ensuring there's room for the car during the mid-spring stormy season in Central Texas.
As Central Texans assess the damage to their homes and vehicles from this latest hail storm, insurance agents are getting some phone calls. We'll see how this storm stacks up with the last three on March 25; they were among the costliest for insurance companies.
More thunderstorms are forecast for this Saturday, Sunday and Monday. Beware.
