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Tennis ball-sized hail hits Colorado Springs in one its worst overnight hailstorms in history

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Neighborhoods near Colorado Springs have experienced what officials are calling the worst overnight storm since 1995. It was a historic event, considering the time of the day, NWS said.

Thousands of homes and cars were damaged near Colorado Springs in El Paso County between 01:00 and 03:00 local time June 13, 2018, when hailstones up to 7.6 and 10.1 cm (3 to 4 inches) started falling. The last time the county was hit by hailstorm comparable to this one was in 1995 with hailstones up to 5 cm (2 inches). 

"It was a historic event, considering the time of the day," Steve Hodanish, NWS meteorologist said. "It was a lot of damage. This will be a rather expensive event," he said.

"The sound was deafening," said Mark Richardson, whose home in Camino del Rey was pounded by hail. "My wife was terrified. I have never heard anything so loud and never seen hail that big, and we have lived in this area for 27 years, including 11 years in this house."

The executive director of the Rocky Mountain Insurance Information Association said the insurance industry will have an estimate of the damage and total of all claims in about a week.

USAA, which covers mostly active and retired military families, said it had received more than 4 000 claims by 11:00 local time Wednesday. 

Farmers Insurance said it had received 700 claims by 14:00 local time Wednesday.

Yesterday's storm comes two years after parts of Colorado Springs were hit by near baseball-size hail on July 28, 2016. It was the sixth-most damaging event in Colorado history, triggering $352.8 million in claims for damage to homes and vehicles, according to a Rocky Mountain Insurance Information Association estimate.

Featured image: Hailstone that fell near Colorado Springs on June 13, 2018. Credit: Kara Stokes

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