Arriba, CO Hail Storm – September 2026

A severe hail storm tracked through Arriba, CO on September 20, 2026, producing 3.1-inch hail and multiple spotter-verified impacts during late afternoon into the early evening.

What Happened

NWS products and radar detections began issuing hail alerts in the Arriba area around 2:30 PM MDT and continued through a final alert at 12:28 AM MDT. The storm evolved through several intensified pulses. Early afternoon radar returns produced smaller hail detections near the metro area, with stronger radar-detected cores developing by mid- to late afternoon.

Around 4:22 PM MDT observers near Wild Horse reported baseball-size hail, and a spotter reported a damaged windshield at that time. At 4:30 PM MDT a social-media post placed tennis-ball-size hail north of Wild Horse. Multiple community photos and mPING entries between about 5:00 PM and 6:30 PM MDT captured measured stones near Brandon and along the storm track. Those spotter images and observer messages correspond to successive radar hail detections later in the evening. NWS warnings accompanied several of the strongest radar returns during the storm’s passage.

Radar-detected hail alerts continued intermittently into late evening across portions of the Arriba warning area. The storm produced repeated cores crossing the same general corridor from Wild Horse through Brandon and into the greater Arriba vicinity before weakening after midnight.

Damage Assessment

Field reports and observer posts document localized vehicle damage and large measured stones near Wild Horse and south of Brandon. A spotter reported a cracked windshield on a vehicle near Wild Horse at 4:22 PM MDT. Multiple social-media photos posted near 6:10 PM MDT showed measured stones taken by local observers south of Brandon. mPING reports logged baseball-size hail during the late-afternoon pulse.

Reports indicate concentrated surface impact along the storm corridor rather than uniform damage across the entire warning area. Damage reports were clustered near the Wild Horse–Brandon corridor and in areas just west and north of Arriba. Observers described broken glass and roof-strike evidence in immediate proximity to the photographed measurements. There were no broad municipal damage assessments published in the field reports for Arriba city limits; most documented effects are vehicle and isolated residential reportings tied to the noted locations.

What Contractors Should Know

Prioritize inspections along the Wild Horse to Brandon corridor and the neighborhoods west and north of Arriba. Start with windshields and vehicle glass at locations where spotters reported impacts at 4:22 PM MDT and where social-media photos were taken around 6:10 PM MDT. Document all findings with timestamped photos and a scale reference. Inspect gutters, vents, and exposed mechanical equipment at homes immediately downwind of the photographed measurement sites.