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During the Storm: Stay Safe

The short list for the fifteen minutes hail is falling: where to be, what to skip, and why the roof can wait. Everything else can be dealt with after.

A hailstorm usually lasts a few minutes to a quarter of an hour. During that window there is exactly one job: keep people safe. Property is an after-the-storm problem — and everything damaged while hail falls is exactly as documentable an hour later.

Do

  • Get everyone inside, including pets, and stay away from windows and skylights — large hail breaks glass.
  • Move to an interior room if hail is very large (egg size or bigger).
  • If you’re driving, pull safely off the road — angle the car so hail hits the windshield (it’s reinforced; side windows aren’t), stay inside, lean away from glass.
  • If it’s safe from a window, note roughly when the hail started, how long it lasted, and how big it looked. Thirty seconds of noticing helps later.

Don’t

  • Don’t run outside to move cars once hail is falling. Large hail causes serious injuries; a dented hood is a claim, a head injury is not worth one.
  • Don’t go on or near the roof — not during the storm, and not right after. Wet shingles and loose granules are how people fall.
  • Don’t stand in front of windows filming. Behind glass is not protected from 2-inch hail.
  • Don’t drive into a storm to "beat it home." Hail cores move; you can’t outrun what you can’t see.

After it passes, wait a few minutes: Hail often falls in waves, and lightning risk continues after the ice stops. When the storm has clearly moved on, start with our First 48 Hours guide — from the ground, in daylight.