Science Symposium- The May 8, 2017, Denver, Colorado Hailstorm

Everton Browne

10/26/2020

Meteorology

Block 2

The May 8, 2017 Denver, Colorado Hailstorm

    On May 8, the monstrous thunderstorm rolled over the Denver metro area during the evening rush hour. The storm dropped golf ball (13.405cm) and baseball-sized (22.9 cm) hail on unsuspecting commuters west of the Denver metro area heavily hitting the cities of Lakewood, Wheat Ridge, and Golden. Along with hail, the storm also flooded several streets around Denver and came with strong wind, sometimes knocking down trees. These giant chunks of ice wreaked havoc on the buildings and properties in Denver, making it the most damaging storm in the city’s history.  The damages caused, an estimated, more than 150,000 auto insurance claims and 50,000 homeowner insurance claims to be filed. These damages ranked the storm as the second most expensive hail storm in the United States’ history. 

    Given the number of claims filed for damaged cars and homes, the storm was going to be Colorado’s most expensive insured catastrophe. According to the Rocky Mountain Insurance Information Association, the total cost of damages was approximately $1.4 billion. This storm surpassed the $845.5 million July 20, 2009, storm, and the $1.1 billion July 11, 1990, storm, which were previously the two most expensive hail storms in the history of the state. (Adjusted costs for today’s dollars) This amount of damage was caused because the storm began during the evening rush hour while there were hundreds of thousands of cars out on the roads instead of tucked safely in their garages.