Fort Davis, TX Hail Storm – May 2025

What Happened

A severe hail storm moved through the Fort Davis, TX area on May 27, 2025, producing a confirmed peak hail size of 2.5 inches and multiple hail reports through late afternoon and evening. The storm stayed active for hours, with repeated radar-derived hail alerts and spotter-verified reports across the broader warning area.

The first hail signals came at 3:33 PM CDT, when dual-polarization radar supported a 1-inch hail alert. Activity intensified by 3:54 PM CDT with a 1.5-inch hail alert, then shifted to a spotter-confirmed 1.25-inch report at 3:56 PM CDT. By 4:29 PM CDT, radar again supported a 2.5-inch hail alert, the largest value in the event.

After the peak, the storm kept producing large hail signatures. Alerts at 4:43 PM CDT and 4:44 PM CDT held at 1.5 inches and 1.25 inches. Additional radar-supported hail followed at 5:14 PM CDT and 5:15 PM CDT, then again at 6:06 PM CDT. At 6:14 PM CDT, a radar and spotter-verified report pushed hail back to 2 inches.

Field reports from the Marathon corridor added ground truth. At 6:38 PM CDT, a storm chaser reported half-dollar-size hail on US 90 west of Marathon, with the time estimated by radar. That report was logged twice in the available field data. Later alerts continued into the evening, including 1.25-inch hail at 7:10 PM CDT and 7:11 PM CDT, then a string of 1-inch radar alerts from 7:27 PM CDT through 9:26 PM CDT. The final alert came at 11:37 PM CDT with 1.25-inch hail.

Damage Assessment

The field reports point to a hail swath that crossed roads and open terrain west of Marathon before the storm continued east and south through the broader Fort Davis warning area. The US 90 report of half-dollar-size hail indicates enough surface impact to raise concern for exposed vehicles, light roofing, and windshield damage along the corridor.

The strongest verified points came from radar-supported and spotter-verified reports, not from a single isolated observation. The 6:14 PM CDT 2-inch report and the 6:38 PM CDT half-dollar report show the storm maintained damaging hail long after the initial peak. The repeated 1-inch to 1.5-inch alerts through the evening suggest multiple passes of hail cores rather than one short burst.

No tree-fall, structural collapse, or widespread debris field was included in the available reports. The record here is hail-focused. In practical terms, that means the main loss profile is likely vehicle exposure, roof impacts, soft metal damage, and glazing damage along the travel path rather than a broader wind-driven damage pattern.

What Contractors Should Know

This event matters most for mobile inspections and route planning around Fort Davis and the US 90 corridor west of Marathon. The storm produced hail signatures over several hours, so damage is not limited to one brief time window. Crews should expect scattered claims, not a single compact cluster.