Austin hail storm described as "hitting our house with a baseball bat"

AUSTIN, Texas — “It was terrifying. The hail was so loud, and it sounded like somebody was hitting our house with a baseball bat,” said Austin homeowner Sarah Roper-Coleman.

Austin’s overnight hailstorm did extensive damage in the Mueller neighborhood in East-Central Austin. On Monday, Roper-Coleman showed CBS Austin the size of the ice that pummeled her house and many others.

“It is huge. I think that is probably the biggest one, but they are all absolutely massive,” said Roper-Coleman.

The baseball-size hail took out the front and back windshields of several cars and left dents and dings in many others.

The ice chunks also did a one-two punch on neighborhood roofs and solar panels. Many residents never thought they would see hail big enough to do the kind of damage they’re dealing with across the Mueller area.

“It was the size of my palm. A couple of ice pieces sized as big as my palm,” said homeowner Arturo Pena.

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Roofing experts say solar panels are designed to withstand the worst storms.

“This was a real, freaking big deal,” said Ben Willows, a project manager with Water Damage & Roofing.

Willows was checking storm damage on Monday and says the solar panels had to hit with out-of-the-ordinary force.

“Solar panels are pretty gnarly. They are very springy, too. So, they absorb quite an impact before they break. This is catastrophic and that is the correct word to use,” said Willows.

Street sweepers were out on Monday picking up branches and leaves littering the streets. It is the quickest of the clean-ups. Homeowner Helen Walker knows it will take a lot longer to replace her window screens that have holes the size of the hail that tore through them.

“The house actually shook. It was as if someone had unloaded a truckload of bowling balls that dropped on top of the roof,” said Walker.

Insurance adjustors are evaluating roofs, solar panels, car windows and windshields, as well as business signs. The Alamo Drafthouse in the Mueller neighborhood got pummeled overnight. The CINEMA sign got hit by the baseball-size hail and chunks of glass letters littered the sidewalk on Monday.