Tarpley, TX Hail Storm – March 2026

What Happened

A hail storm crossed the Tarpley, TX area on March 7, 2026, with the largest verified stones reaching 1.25 inches by early evening. The event produced four NWS alerts between 3:32 PM CST and 6:54 PM CST, with the later alert carrying the highest hail estimate.

The first alert came at 3:32 PM CST with 1-inch hail in the warning area and radar plus spotter verification. A second 1-inch alert followed at 4:28 PM CST. By 5:35 PM CST, dual-polarization radar was detecting 1-inch hail, and the final alert at 6:54 PM CST raised the estimate to 1.25 inches.

Field reports came in during the middle of the event. At 3:51 PM CST, a report relayed through media described hail up to ping-pong ball size, or about 1.5 inches, with the timing estimated from radar. At 4:21 PM CST, spotter-verified reports noted quarter-sized hail along Highway 173, 6 miles south of Bandera. Those reports placed measurable hail in the broader Tarpley storm corridor during the late afternoon.

The sequence shows a storm that held its hail potential for several hours. Radar confidence shifted from spotter-verified reports to dual-polarization detection as the storm matured through the evening.

Damage Assessment

The ground reports point to a narrow but meaningful hail swath across the Tarpley area and south toward Highway 173. The 3:51 PM CST report of ping-pong ball size hail indicates stones large enough to affect exposed roofing, gutters, soft metals, and vehicle glass in the path of the storm. The later 4:21 PM CST reports confirm quarter-sized hail in the same regional corridor.

The repeated 4:21 PM CST report along Highway 173, 6 miles south of Bandera, adds consistency to the field picture. The storm did not produce a single isolated report. It generated multiple confirmations during the same afternoon window, which suggests more than one point of impact along the travel path.

The verified 1.25-inch peak in the warning area is below the largest spotter-reported size, but it still places the event in a range that commonly produces visible roof strikes, dented metal trim, and broken exterior fixtures. In a rural setting like Tarpley, those impacts can be uneven from one property to the next, especially where hail core placement shifted over short distances.

Roofers and adjusters should treat the Tarpley corridor and the Highway 173 reports as separate inspection lanes. The storm covered a broader warning area, but the field reports identify the likely corridor where the strongest surface impact occurred. Vehicles left outdoors, barns, sheds, and metal outbuildings should be checked first.

What Contractors Should Know

Crews working Tarpley and the surrounding Bandera County roads should expect scattered hail claims rather than uniform field-wide damage. The reports on March 7 came in during a late-afternoon to early-evening window, which usually means initial calls may be clustered around the first known impact points before the full path becomes clear.