Socorro Hail Storm – 10 Years Ago Today

Ten years ago today, Socorro, NM was struck by a massive hailstorm.

I had just started looking at graduate school at New Mexico Tech. I turned on the Weather Channel the evening of the 5th, and they covered the storm. I remember thinking “Sococco, Socorro, why is that familiar?” while I watched the storm coverage.

There is a wealth of information online about this event. As the hail fell, a few students made a video:

There are several photo galleries as well, one of which is from the National Radio Astronomy Observatory (NRAO), as one of their buildings was heavily damaged:

NRAO Account

Another page has a collection of photos from student webpages:

Student Photos

Overall, the Socorro Hail Storm stuck in my mind through many of my storm chases. Even though I was not there to witness it personally, the impact is still seen around campus. My girlfriend’s car still bears the hail dents, as do many other cars and buildings around campus. I evaluate hail threats carefully when I am storm chasing in part because of this storm.

Thank you for reading my post! It’s hard to believe ten years have passed!