The Hail Storm

On August 1, New Hyde Park was hit by a very destructive hail storm.

The weatherperson had forecasted afternoon thunderstorms but nothing like what actually occurred. I was out shopping with my daughter at Macy's in Manhasset and was stuck in the store because of the heavy rains. I did see some hail but it was small, marble-size pellets dropping to the floor. It was windy but seemed nothing more than a tropical rain storm. The store is only several minutes away from New Hyde Park. I took Northern Boulevard home and when I turned onto Hillside Avenue at Herricks Road, there was bumper to bumper traffic. It took me half an hour to travel several blocks. I turned off into the Manor to cut through the side streets.

Block after block I saw damaged cars. Windshields cracked or completely blown out. I couldn't believe what I was seeing! Tree debris was everywhere and I was beginning to become concerned about what I would find at my own home.

As I pulled up past my driveway, my daughter caught a glimpse of her car with the back window completely blown out. As we walked towards the front of the car we could see several large cracks in the front windshield. There were dents all over the car. My son's car also had a large crack in the windshield and dents all over. The fence around our backyard had cracks. In the yard, lay golf size chunks of ice. I picked one up and could see why there was so much damage throughout the neighborhood. If these ice balls were falling out of the sky, it is little wonder that broken glass was everywhere.

Many of my neighbors were out looking over their own damage. Everyone sympathized with one another and one of my neighbor's helped my daughter to put a plastic covering across the back window of her car.

We spent the next couple of days on the phone with the insurance company and dropping the cars off at the collision shop. Every shop that we passed was loaded with cars lacking windows. Yet one neighborhood over, there was little evidence of the storm. It hit very hard only in some spots.

I can only imagine the heartbreak that occurs in areas that are hit constantly by tornadoes and hurricanes. We are fortunate that our weather does not bring any destruction most of the time.

We buy and care for our material possessions but mother nature can destroy it in one quick moment. Her mighty force was felt August 1.