'Tennis Ball-Sized' Hail Breaks Car Windshield in Southwest Texas

Tennis ball-sized hailstones cracked a storm chaser’s windshield near Fort Stockton, Texas, as he was driving south after filming lightning on May 11.

Marcus Diaz captured slow-motion footage of hail hitting the road followed by the moment his car windshield gets cracked.

Diaz shared the video to Twitter, writing in the caption that the hail in the first clip was two inches in diameter. The hail that caused damage to his windshield was “tennis-ball-sized,” he said.

Speaking to Storyful, Diaz said, “I quickly became excited when tennis-ball-sized hail started falling on me, but also knew if I didn’t leave that spot, I’d have a face full of glass shards.”

The National Weather Service warned of storms that could produce “isolated large hail” in southern parts of Texas on the same date. Credit: Marcus Diaz via Storyful