Newspapper Reports
Collin County residents
assess hailstorm damage
Insurer reports scores of vehicle and home
claims already
12:00 AM CST on Monday, February 18,
2008
By MARISSA ALANIS / The Dallas Morning
News
malanis@dallasnews.com
McKINNEY – John Verhoev considered
parking his Toyota Camry in his garage before a
severe storm swept through here early
Saturday.
G.J. McCARTHY/DMN
Elisabeth Garrison describes hail damage to her
McKinney home to John Broadway, a State Farm
investigator. Quarter-size and golf ball-size
hail pelted Collin County on Saturday.
He said he decided against doing so because the
last storm that hit his neighborhood had produced
only pea-size hail. Saturday's storm, however,
brought golf ball-size hail that caused more than
$3,000 damage to his car.
"It just got peppered," Mr. Verhoev said. "It's
in bad shape."
On Sunday, other people in this Collin County
community were assessing hail damage that pounded
cars and homes between 6:40 and 6:55 a.m.
Saturday. Hail, ranging from quarter size to golf
ball size, was reported in Collin cities such as
McKinney, Melissa and Anna, residents and the
National Weather Service said.
Jennifer Dunn, a weather service meteorologist,
said 1.31 inches of rain was reported Saturday at
Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport.
State Farm Insurance initially received about 60
homeowner claims and 110 vehicle claims related
to hail damage, the majority in the McKinney
area, according to company officials. Officials
said they anticipate more claim filings,
beginning today.
State Farm investigators Linda Rogers and John
Broadway surveyed storm damage in McKinney
neighborhoods on Sunday afternoon. The
investigators said the survey helps them prepare
to help customers who file claims.
"Right there, a broken skylight," Ms. Rogers
said, as she pointed to a damaged skylight on the
roof of a home in the Stonebridge Ranch
neighborhood. "Those are the kind of things we
are looking for."
Staff writer Joanna Cattanach contributed
to this report.
