Fort Hancock, TX Hail Storm – September 2025

What Happened

A severe hail storm moved through Fort Hancock, Texas, on September 28, 2025, with verified hail reaching 1.75 inches and multiple later reports of 1 to 1.5-inch stones across the area. The storm remained active through the afternoon and into early evening, with repeated NWS alerts and spotter-confirmed observations along the Fort Hancock corridor.

The first high-end report came at 2:06 PM CDT, when radar and spotter verification supported 1.75-inch hail. By 2:58 PM CDT and 3:08 PM CDT, additional alerts carried 1.25-inch and 1-inch hail estimates. A 3:20 PM CDT field report from Hatchet Farms described hail just under golf ball size, measured at 1.5 inches. Around 3:25 PM CDT, dual-polarization radar continued to show 1.25-inch hail potential, followed by another 1-inch alert at 3:58 PM CDT and a 1.25-inch alert at 4:04 PM CDT.

Spotter reports lined up with that sequence. At 3:30 PM CDT, floodwater from short arroyos draining off the mesa to the north was reported in colonias southeast of Fort Hancock, with water surrounding at least one home on Blackfoot Rd. The same report noted an arroyo crossing Ross Ave, East El Paso St, and Helms Rd that was too deep to cross safely. Later in the event, a social media report with a photo documented 1.25-inch hail at 4:40 PM CDT, followed by another photo-based report of 1-inch hail at 4:44 PM CDT.

Additional radar-derived alerts kept the storm in view through the evening. Hail of 1 inch was detected at 4:13 PM CDT, 5:02 PM CDT, 5:04 PM CDT, and 6:39 PM CDT. A 1.5-inch alert came at 4:23 PM CDT, then again at 5:55 PM CDT. A Cocorahs observer reported mostly dime-sized hail with some nickels mixed in at 4:34 PM CDT, and another observer reported about 7 minutes of hail at 4:39 PM CDT. By 5:45 PM CDT, a spotter at Hueco Tanks reported 1.54 inches of rainfall since 4:56 PM CST and noted difficult travel conditions in the park.

Damage Assessment

The field reports point to two main impacts in and around Fort Hancock. One was hail large enough to reach 1.5 inches at Hatchet Farms and 1.25 inches in later photo-documented reports. The other was water moving through low crossings and colonias southeast of town, where short arroyos overtopped roadways and left at least one home surrounded by water on Blackfoot Rd.

The rain and runoff reports matter because they show where the storm was not just dropping hail but also producing localized drainage problems. Ross Ave, East El Paso St, and Helms Rd were reported too deep to cross safely at 3:30 PM CDT. That same time frame lines up with the strongest hail reports, including the Hatchet Farms observation and the radar-confirmed 1.75-inch alert earlier in the day.

Later reports suggest a wider hail field with variable stone size. A 1-inch report from a Cocorahs observer at 4:39 PM CDT and a 1.25-inch photo report at 4:40 PM CDT indicate a corridor of repeated hail production rather than a single brief core. The 1.54-inch rainfall report from Hueco Tanks adds a separate impact area where travel became difficult before evening.