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Hail: The Hailstorm of 1998
Residents of southcentral Kentucky will long remember the Hailstorm of 1988.
After a pleasant spring day across the region, the 16th day of April
brought stormy weather ahead of an approaching cold front. By mid afternoon, a
large supersell thunderstorm developed and moved from northern Logan County into
Warren County, where it brought high winds and dropped hail along a path through
Bowling Green and surrounding communities. The storm then pushed into Barren
County and later hit Metcalfe County, causing damage and fatalities associated
with high winds and tornadoes.
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Figure 6-3. New trucks with broken windshields and
dinted hoods. (Photo Credit: J. Imel/Park City
Daily News) |
Reports from the Park City Daily News (1998) summarized
the devastation wrought by the storm. Hailstones the size of baseballs smashed
windshields in rows of new cars and trucks on the lots of local automobile
dealerships (Figure 6-3), broke the glass of storefront windows, and relentlessly
pounded the roofs and siding of homes, schools, and businesses. Damage was
widespread over the area. Surveys revealed more than 11,000 homes in Warren
County damaged by hail, wind, and rain. An estimated 10,000 automobiles were
damaged. Sixteen airplanes were either damaged or destroyed. Other reports of
damage included $10 million to the roof and air conditioning system at the
Greenwood Mall and damage to the roof of the Bowling Green High School that led
to extensive water damage and forced the building to be closed for the duration
of the school year. Fortunately, no fatalities were reported due to hail, but
dozens of people were treated for injuries from hail and flying glass at local
hospitals and emergency centers.
Total damage estimates for the storm exceeded $500 million, as cleanup and
repair of the widespread damage continued for months. With local contractors
overwhelmed, contractors from neighboring cities and states set up temporary
offices, and many hired migrant construction workers to complete the work.
Badly dented vehicles, perhaps some of the last remaining remnants of the
storm's damage, are still seen on the streets of Bowling Green more than three
years later.
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