So, my Wife and I have a major disagreement going. We had a prodigious(for Wisconsin) hail storm recently. A huge volume of 3/8" diameter hail fell in just a few minutes, covering everything in sight. We were at home, car in the garage, no problem there. Seeing several trucks speed by, sparked a …

You are not unsafe in a hailstorm. However, the car may be damaged beyond repair. In our area last year we had a record hailstorm with golf ball and up size ice balls. The total claims were $400 MILLION for cars and buildings damaged. Some shops are still busy fixing hail damaged cars. I would see…

3/8" diameter hail probably won’t damage your car, even if you drive in it, but hail can suddenly get bigger. Hailstones that get much larger than golf ball size are getting close to glass-smashing proportions, including possibly breaking out your back window or even your windshield. Like any kind…

Well, here’s the deal: in 3/8" hail, you’re probably not going to get any vehicle damage. But hail is indicative of strong updrafts (hail forms as rain drops are hurled upward by the updraft into upper-level air that’s below freezing. It keeps getting bounced up into that air until enough ice layer…

I’d be more worried about driving on a frozen road than about damaging the car, but I would probably pull under an overpass and wait for it to stop and melt.

I agree. It’s a judgement call like most driving situations and toomdifficult to make a general assessment. At higher speeds where even 3/8 inch hail stones could damage a car, yes pull over. If those smaller hailstones are accumulating and produce slippery driving, yes pull over.

Question: do you want the 3/8" hail to be hitting your windshield at its falling speed or at 50 mph? Ever been on a motorcycle in a rainstorm? Personally, I’d stop under an overpass.

It’s really a no brainer. If some one is throwing ice pellets at you, go for cover.

We just had softball size hail here in Ga. Killed roofs and cars. A friend was trying to drive home and had his windshield smashed. I would think driving on a lot of hail would be close to driving on ice. I would rather stop.

Is it ok to drive in a hail storm?

General Discussion

MikeInNH April 5, 2011, 4:40pm 7

Depends on how bad the hail is…

I’ve seen hail storms that have dented car hoods and cracked windshields. The problem is you don’t know how bad the hail storm will get.

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Is it ok to drive in a hail storm?

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