Damage From June Hailstorms Visible From Space

Last June, a hailstorm hit western and central South Dakota so hard that the damage shows up in space. Bad weather is a fact of life, and as a responsible homeowner, make sure your home is ready. Renewal by Andersen® of Rapid City, trusted replacement window contractor, discusses this news:

June’s Hailstorms

Hailstorm usually strips vegetation away, which means hail-stripped areas don’t have an upper layer of protection that makes them hotter than the surrounding areas. NASA’s satellite sensors, which can detect land surface heat, showed a light brown area that stretched across more than half the state; in some areas, the hail damage is six miles wide. The hailstorms produced large hail that damaged vehicles and busted house windows. Fortunately, no injuries were reported.

How Hail Forms

Hailstorms form within a particularly unstable air mass. This is an air mass where temperature falloff with height is much greater than usual. This unstable air produces large updraft speeds that are fast enough to keep small hailstones from dropping to the ground. In a hailstorm, small ice particles collect water on them and form a water shell that grows larger thanks to the tilted updraft. Hail gets bigger until it becomes too heavy for the updraft or it gets caught in a downdraft.

As an experienced window installation company, we recommend making sure your home is ready for hail. Knowing how hail forms and its destructive capabilities allows you to make specific home upgrades to reinforce your defenses.

Preparing Your Home for a hailstorm

You can’t stop a hailstorm from doing damage, but you can limit the amount of damage it does to your home. Inspect parts of your home that protect your interior if they are in good condition. Have your roof, siding, windows, and doors inspected and replace them if necessary. Keep the trees near your home trimmed because failing branches can cause damage.

Our residential window services can help protect your interior by some of the best replacement windows on the market. In addition to being durable and tough, our products are also energy-efficient, beautiful, and environmentally friendly. Call us at (605) 341-7831 to learn more about our services and products or to ask for a free consultation. We serve Rapid City, SD, and other areas.