OKC hail storms: how bad are they in a typical year?

[ljbab728]

I've heard those are pretty nice and well-managed. Is it a locally owned complex?

I don't think so. It sold within the last year. Management is through this company.

http://www.cbre.us/o/oklahomamarket/Pages/home.aspx

[RadicalModerate]

So if I just took my chances, would there be probably a 50% chance or so I would end up with severe damage between now and June?

Easy answer a: Don't own a car and your concerns about hail would be reduced by about 70% to 99%.
Easy answer b: Own a car that is already hail damaged and has been paid off by insurance.
Easy answer c: Give someone in the Current Administration a call and make a Federal Case out of it.

[PennyQuilts]

I think bchris has the makings of being an excellent weather geek, personally. Just give him some time to scope it out and get the lay of the land. He's obviously a thinking man and I'm betting he'll eventually get bit by the bug. Then we'll all benefit.

[Wishbone]

My wifes car is a 2009 and it's been hit with hail 3 different times. And it's garaged every night. She doesn't get off work until 6 and 2 hail strorms caught her at work right before she left. The last one was later at night when we where at a restaruant.

The first did $13,000 worth of hail damage. The hood, roof, and trunk all had to be replaced. It was in the shop for a month. Weather in this State is brutal!

[pw405]

My neighbors probably think I am crazy due to my pre-hail-car-protecting-rituals. This might sound stupid, but it is CHEAP and it works. Get some big bags of mulch to keep in/near your car (about $5). If the weather says its going to hail, place bags of mulch on hood, windshield and roof. The rain will make the mulch heavy, and you could shoot hail out of a cannon it wouldn't dent you car through a bag of mulch.

Now, if you are concerned about scratches, get some of those big padded blankets that moving companies give you to protect your stuff while you are loading/unloading it. Throw the blankets on the car, put mulch on top.

Like I said, sounds stupid but if you are concerned about property damage, this is an easy and cheap way to protect your property.

Additionally, learn to recognize a hail-core in the radar images of the thunderstorm. Just view the radar loops on TV or on your smartphone and you can very easily rule out storms that won't directly affect the location of your car.

I'm sure Venture has an example picture of a radar that has a hail core. It will be the most "severe" color of the radar - typically dark red, purple, black or even white (depending on what TV station or App you are using). If you are watching local TV stations, use them only to help locate the storm. They hype everything up to scare the crap out of viewers to get ratings. Don't fall victim to their hype machine.

Finally - plan for your personal safety first and foremost. Property can be replaced, and there are even some instances where claims from storm damage work to your advantage. For example, my brother's car was "totaled" by a hail storm about 5 years ago, insurance wrote him a check for the car value, he replaced the windshield and put another 40,000ish miles on it, had no car payment, and had a mechanically sound, quality ride (with dents).

[PennyQuilts]

That isn't stupid - it is brilliant.