Hail storm leaves damage in wake

SEBRING — A hail storm created havoc and loads of damage as it hit the county on April 4. The widespread damage to the northern end of the county saw car and homeowners insurance claims skyrocket, making this the ninth story in the Highlands News-Sun's Top 10.

Hail the size of golf balls slammed into roofs, destroying windows and siding. Car alarms sounded as hail pounded the hoods and roofs of vehicles. Some neighborhoods were hit worse than others, like Sun N Lake in Sebring. Lake Placid was hit with rain but no hail.

Not a single rental car could be found in the county as so many people had their cars towed into body shops. Windshields cracked and resembled spiders' webs and side mirrors no longer showed objects closer than they appeared. Pool cages were shredded.

Local body shops were up to their lug nuts in repairs as were screen repair people and roofers. All manner of repair people were cruising neighborhoods and knocking door to door to offer repairs. Some were legitimate business people from out of county and state while others were unscrupulous, unlicensed and insured. It was buyer beware.

Some out-of-town companies opened in empty buildings off the Circle in Sebring. Others rented out space in existing businesses.

After nine months, some cars still have multiple dings in the roof and hoods. Doors have the telltale concave marks. The damage was extensive enough some questioned the presence of tornadoes. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration stated there was no data showing any tornadoes.

"We had a very moist and unstable air mass that covered the region yesterday, we had really cool temperatures in the upper level of the atmosphere," Meteorologist John McMichael said at the time. "So, we had daytime heating going on, and we had storms develop first across the southern part of the peninsula down in the Miami area. And then they work their way slowly northward. And then they had other storms that ran into one another over Highlands County and they really exploded over Highlands County to produce the hail because of the cold temperatures aloft."

In the aftermath, the Highlands County Board of County Commissioners set up a call center where residents could report damage. The county could have qualified for state assistance if it met a certain threshold. The call center also let the county know where residents suffered the most damage and if more resources were needed. The county did not qualify for state assistance.

Residents couldn't know it yet, but they would soon be dealing with Mother Nature again in September with the arrival of Hurricane Ian.