Historic Hail – Mid Valley Blitzed by Hours of Hail, Wind, Flooding

Intense thunderstorms raked the highly populated McAllen/Edinburg/Mission area of Hidalgo County during the mid evening of March 29th. The storms dumped hail up the size of baseballs for more than half an hour, drove that hail with 70 to 75 mph winds, added 4 to 6 inches of torrential rains, and produced frequent cloud to ground lightning. Initial storms developed across the King Ranch during the mid afternoon of March 29th, and spread west into northern Hidalgo and Starr County by early evening. The storms, fed by warm, humid air near the surface, colder air aloft, and boundaries (providing lift) from earlier storms which moved across the Coastal Bend, appeared to have intensified further as they approached the highly populated Edinburg/McAllen/Mission area. Why they intensified was a mystery, but one possibility was the interaction with an upper level disturbance moving across northeast Mexico. This disturbance spawned dangerous storms in Nuevo Léon and Tamaulipas, and boundaries from these cells may have been the ultimate trigger to a night hundreds of thousands will not forget.

The City of McAllen won’t soon forget the scary evening of March 29th. Preliminary storm reports received as the event was unfolding can be found here. The following is a sampling of the hail damage and devastation experienced by many, particularly in the north half of the city.

Was your commercial business damaged during the March 2012 Hidalgo County hail storm? Let the team at Insurance Claim Recovery Support adjust your hail damage insurance claim to get you the outcome you deserve.