News: Bad weather experience

[Dolce]

Had a major scare this week with the corvette. I am very careful about the weather forecast when driving the vette. This past Thursday we had a nasty storm in PA that came out of nowhere and before I knew it, it was like someone was shooting Ice at me with a sling shot. It started to hail and the ice was the size and shape of the ice cubes out of the freezer. Suddenly I was being pelted with ice cube size hail and driving on 1 inch of ice cubes.
I figured the car and roof would be severely damaged. I checked out every square of the car and convertible top and not one single chip, ding or tear. I am amazed.
This was the worst driving experience that I have ever had, needless to say worst in the vette. Anyone have any experience with hail??????

 

[6 Shooter]

I've heard stories about Corvettes being destroyed during the 1988 BG hailstorm...

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Bowling Green Corvette Assembly Plant​

Residents of southcentral Kentucky will long remember the Hailstorm of 1988. After a pleasant spring day across the region, the 16th day of April brought stormy weather ahead of an approaching cold front. By mid afternoon, a large supersell thunderstorm developed and moved from northern Logan County into Warren County, where it brought high winds and dropped hail along a path through Bowling Green and surrounding communities. The storm then pushed into Barren County and later hit Metcalfe County, causing damage and fatalities associated with high winds and tornadoes.

Reports from the Park City Daily News (1998) summarized the devastation wrought by the storm. Hailstones the size of baseballs smashed windshields in rows of new cars and trucks on the lots of local automobile dealerships (Figure 6-3), broke the glass of storefront windows, and relentlessly pounded the roofs and siding of homes, schools, and businesses. Damage was widespread over the area. Surveys revealed more than 11,000 homes in Warren County damaged by hail, wind, and rain. An estimated 10,000 automobiles were damaged. Sixteen airplanes were either damaged or destroyed. Other reports of damage included $10 million to the roof and air conditioning system at the Greenwood Mall and damage to the roof of the Bowling Green High School that led to extensive water damage and forced the building to be closed for the duration of the school year. Fortunately, no fatalities were reported due to hail, but dozens of people were treated for injuries from hail and flying glass at local hospitals and emergency centers.

Total damage estimates for the storm exceeded $500 million, as cleanup and repair of the widespread damage continued for months. With local contractors overwhelmed, contractors from neighboring cities and states set up temporary offices, and many hired migrant construction workers to complete the work. Badly dented vehicles, perhaps some of the last remaining remnants of the storm's damage, are still seen on the streets of Bowling Green more than three years later.

1988 Bowling Green area hailstorm article