Cars, hail and why I needed a do over last week...

So remember how Trevor’s car was damaged during the storm back at the beginning of April? Well, he JUST got it back two weeks ago. Nearly $10,000 in damage was done, and they had to order him a new roof from Japan. These things apparently take awhile.

In the interim, Trevor has gone through a series of rental cars. The first one had to be returned after someone rear-ended him while he was at a dead stop in traffic on I-35. And the second didn’t fair much better after Trevor backed it into the garage and a rock flew up and cracked the windshield (separate incidents, but still indicative of the car luck Trevor has had lately). So, obviously, it was my turn.

Last Tuesday, I was stopped at a red light less than a quarter of a mile from my house when Banner choked in the backseat. In my mind I was imagining the worst possible scenarios (I always do), so it should come as no surprise that I immediately reacted to the noise by turning around to help. And, well, I guess my foot must have come off the break because the next thing I knew I had coasted into the car in front of me.

Scared. Me. To. Death.

Honestly, I’m not sure what frightened me more: Banner choking, hitting the car in front of me or realizing that I had just reacted without thinking to the baby in the backseat. Before, I had always told myself that I would calmly pull over, park, etc. before seeing to Banner. After all, it wouldn’t do either of us any good if I got into an accident going 70 mph on the freeway. But there I was operating a motorized vehicle - even if I was stopped at a red light – and I didn’t think. I just DID. Makes you wonder what I would have done in another situation.

Seriously. I shudder at the thought.

The accident was very minor. Barely left a scratch on the white Nissan in front of me. Of course, it was a NEW car, though, so the owner was quick to report it to my insurance agency.

My car, on the other hand, sustained no damage at all except a slightly bent license plate. Oh, how I wish it were the other way around!

Or I did until Wednesday happened.

Because Hump Day came with an unexpected, severe storm – complete with torrential rain, wind and HAIL. I was at the gym when it hit, which was weird because when I got out of my car at 5:40, the skies were clear. By the time I changed clothes and got on the elliptical at 5:50 it was lightening everywhere. At 6, the power to the gym was knocked out followed by the first round of hail 6:15.


Baby hail from the first round.



But the first round of hail was just a teaser. At 6:30 the second round hit with golf ball and egg size ice chunks. Everyone in the gym stepped out on the balcony and watched helplessly as our cars were pummeled from above. Several windows were knocked out, including my friend Emily’s. She had just gotten her car back after a vandal threw a brick through her windshield, only to have the glass knocked out for a second time due to hail. Worse still, she lives two houses down from my old house in Lakewood, which was kind of ground zero for the worst of the storm damage.

This was nothing compared to what it looked like in Lakewood 

(just south of where this video was recorded)

Luckily, my windows survived the hail even if my hood, roof and frame are now pockmarked with dents. Same for my mother-in-law, who, thinking the first round of hail was it, was on the road for the second wave. She was smart, though, and pulled over. I have a friend that was driving in it that was showered with glass as her windshield shattered in her face. Similarly, my coworker’s neighbor had her nose broken by ice as she tried to make it from her car into her house after the hail knocked out her sunroof. And several others that were safely tucked away indoors, including my sister and my boss, lost the skylights in their homes. So, obviously, I was fortunate. It could have been much, much worse.

My brother-in-law's car.

The hail even shattered his passenger side mirror and the surrounding plastic.

Still the whole thing was scary. Trevor had just picked up Banner from daycare and the sound of the hail on Trevor’s roof sent the little guy in to hysterics (I’m sure Trevor wasn’t much better since, again, he had JUST got his car back from the last major hail event in North Texas). And having so many insurance claims back to back this spring – even if almost all of them (except mine) were acts of God or completely out of our control – have us concerned that our rates will either go up where we can no longer afford insurance or they may cancel our policy altogether. Never mind that the last accident I was in was back in 1996, and it wasn’t my fault (despite the fact that I was 16 at the time, and driving was absolutely terrifying). Trevor and I have already decided to reimburse our insurance agency for my little fender bender. It sounds like it will only be $200 or $300, which is much, much less expensive than a premium hike. Plus, it apparently erases it from my record with the company. Not sure if I believe that, but at this point I am desperate.  Because FIVE insurance claims for two people in three months is a bit much.

Since my car didn’t lose any windows, it will probably be a week or two before the dealership calms down enough to be able to give me an estimate on the damage. Same goes for our roof. The roofers are going to work us in as soon as possible, but it could take awhile with all the other damage around us.

Pictures of hail in our front yard AN HOUR after the storm had passed.

Keep in mind that it is June. In Texas. And the temperatures were in the 90s.

The (sort of) good news is that it is June, and it usually stops raining for the summer around the solstice. But this is Texas, and – really – anything can happen. And as I type this I swear I just heard thunder.

Fabulous.