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the world book web site offers an encyclopedia

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and curriculum guides. world book is publisher of the world book encyclopedia.

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The World Book web site offers an encyclopedia, dictionary, atlas, homework help, study aids, and curriculum guides. World Book is publisher of the World Book Encyclopedia.

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the world book web site offers an encyclopedia

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.keywords[]
and curriculum guides. world book is publisher of the world book encyclopedia.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
The World Book web site offers an encyclopedia, dictionary, atlas, homework help, study aids, and curriculum guides. World Book is publisher of the World Book Encyclopedia.

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If your vehicle has damage due to a hailstorm, you might want to know how much of an expense it is to have it repaired before you bring your automobile to an auto body shop. This allows you to prepare financially for the expense. It also allows you to spot outrageous estimates because you'll have a good idea what most repair shops charge for Paintless Dent Removal (PDR).
Things to Consider When Factoring in Repair Costs
When factoring in cost of hail damage repair, there are a number of things to consider. The first is the extent of damage done to the vehicle. If it is minor, it will cost less.

Next, you need to know what your deductible is. You can get this information from your insurance policy. This is the amount you have to pay in before your benefits kick in. If you have a $500 deductible, you'll be responsible for paying for that much of the repair before the insurance company will cover the costs.

If this causes you to question the value of PDR, don't let it. The Auto Dent Specialists offer a Deductible Forgiveness Program that takes up to $500 off hail damage repair. That means that you don't have to pay any more than you have to for our expert repair services.

Last but not least, it depends on the type of repair you have done. If PDR won't work on your vehicle, other services will be suggested. We'll speak to you about your options so you can make an informed decision about what to do next.
Repair Shops Vary in Price
The cost of hail damage repairs varies from one auto body shop to another. Some claim that small dents can be removed for $30-$45. Medium sized dents cost $40-$55 per repair, and large dents are far more expensive to remove at $75-$80 per repair.

Auto Trends magazine estimates that the average cost of damage for private passenger automobiles following a hailstorm is about $2,500. That's a pretty penny that can be avoided by parking your vehicle in a garage or under a carport whenever possible. Monitoring weather conditions through a mobile device, computer or TV is advisable as it helps you plan where your vehicle will be during the brunt of a severe storm.

Shop around for estimates. You want to make the best decision you can because there will be some out-of-pocket expense in many cases. Keep in mind the different benefits each shop offers like our Limited Lifetime Warranty because it adds extra value to the services we offer to our customers.
The Benefits of Having a Damaged Vehicle Repaired
There are a number of benefits that comes with repairing a hail damaged car. First and foremost, it helps you maintain a professional image. If you're driving your vehicle to and from work, you'll want it to reflect you as a person.

You don't want to work in a high paying field with a dinged and dented vehicle, do you? You can avoid this atrocity by scheduling a time to bring in your vehicle to our shop. You can either call us or stop by our location during our working hours to see if we have time to complete the repair right away.

Next, it restores the cart, truck, van or SUV to 'like new' condition. Other auto body repair shops think filling in a dent does the trick. It doesn't.
Our Repair Work is Guaranteed
You want to get the most from your vehicle, right? That means that you want to drive it as long as you have it and not be forced to repair it over and over again. We guarantee our work for the length of time you own the auto.

That means that if you run into problems with our repair work, it's covered by our warranty. Don't hesitate to let us know if this is a problem for you as your satisfaction is our number one priority. We want you to be happy with the work that we do for you.
We Keep the Manufacturer's Warranty Intact
Other repair shops may even go as far as repairing a panel but that's no good either. In order to get full value out of the vehicle, PDR is the way to go. It helps keep the manufacturer's warranty intact which means that you're entitled to full benefits as guaranteed by the company that made your car, truck, van or SUV.
Have Professionals Do the Repair Work for You
Visit the experts at the Auto Dent Specialists. We're here to repair your vehicle quickly and professionally. The dents and dings that have marred up your auto are no more once we've done Paintless Dent Removal. We'll have your vehicle looking as good as new in no time at all.

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How Much Does It Cost To Repair Hail Damage to a Car?

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If your vehicle has damage due to a hailstorm, you might want to know how much of an expense it is to have it repaired before you bring your automobile to an auto body shop. This allows you to prepare financially for the expense.

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Learn how much it costs to Install a Roof.

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HomeAdvisor's Roofing Cost Guide lists prices associated with installing a new roof including labor and materials, as reported by HomeAdvisor customers.

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Learn which states receive the most hail and how you can spot a hail storm before it begins.

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Severe hail causes an average of $1.42 billion in property and crop damage in the United States each year, using data from 2005 through 2015. This is the hail that smashes your windshield, takes the siding off your house and causes roof damage to businesses.

Much of this damage occurs during the spring and summer months as warmth and humidity build, fueling severe thunderstorms. A large portion of hail-producing thunderstorms occur in the Plains states, according to a study lead by John L. Cintineo et al.
(MORE: Marble Sized Hail: Our Two Cents)
Severe hail occurs most often in a triangular region from west Texas to northwest Missouri to the western Dakotas.

In the study, the authors defined severe hail as hail that's at least 0.75 inches in diameter, or about the size of a penny. Much of this region averaged at least 0.5 days of severe hail from 2007 to 2010. These same areas have one day, on average, per year when hail of any size reaches the ground.

Texas, Kansas, Oklahoma and Nebraska average the most days with damaging hail larger than golfball size. Most of the hail in Texas and Oklahoma occurs in the western portions of those states.

A few eastern hotspots for hail are around the Potomac and the Chesapeake bays in the mid-Atlantic and the coasts of Georgia and South Carolina, according to the study.
(MORE: How Hail Forms and Why It's a Threat)
The country is nearly devoid of severe hail during the winter months, but hail can occur at any time of the year. Hail is generally very limited during the winter months due to the lack of favorable conditions such as robust heating, strong wind shear and ample moisture.

Thunderstorms capable of producing severe hail migrate northward through the spring and summer as favorable conditions intensify and spread from the Gulf of Mexico to the Canadian border.

The Southeast gets battered most often by hail in May, but the peak hail numbers on a national scale occur in June, when thunderstorms are producing the most severe hail in the Plains, according to the study.

Hail becomes most frequent toward late summer farther north into the northern Plains.

The hail threat diminishes rapidly from September to October. Severe hailstorms tend to hibernate for the last two months of the year as cooler and drier winds bring winter.

This climatology study looked at immense amounts of national radar data to diagnose if thunderstorms likely produced hail, and if so, how big the hailstones were able to grow. This was done by using multiradar multisensor severe weather guidance from radar data and local models to build an unbiased history of hail throughout the year and the country.

Past studies that used storm reports from the Storm Prediction Center relied on the public's submission of reports to National Weather Service offices. One big flaw in this procedure is that it relies on population density, and therefore, more sparsely populated areas will have fewer reports.
(MORE: Large Hail: An Underrated Danger)
The use of radar data patches holes where people do not live and creates a more trustworthy map of where hail falls.

The study did compare their results to previous studies that used storm reports as the primary dataset and found similar results with the most severe hail days occurring in the central Plains and a secondary bull's-eye in the western Carolinas. This secondary bull's-eye may be due to a higher population that reports severe storms more often along the East Coast.
MORE ON WEATHER.COM: Hailstorm Hits Denver

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America Has a Distinct Hail Alley | The Weather Channel

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Severe hail causes an average of $1.42 billion in property and crop damage in the United States each year, using data from 2005 through 2015. This is the hail that smashes your windshield, takes the siding off your house and causes roof damage to businesses.

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What is Hail Damage and how does it affect my home?

Roofing hail damage

When large hail and strong winds exist near residential areas, homes may sustain considerable hail damage to roofing, siding, gutters. Hail is a large frozen raindrop that is produced by intense thunderstorms where snow and rain coexist.

Hail damage can affect your property in many ways. Hail damage to asphalt shingles can cause soft spots or bruising that may or may not be visible to the naked eye. Hail impacts will also tend to loosen the hard granules that make up the top surface of the shingle. In some cases, hail will cause enough damage to break through the shingles felt matting and cause its fibbers to be exposed. Another way to tell if hail has damaged your roof is by checking the roof vents. Hail damage will often cause dents or marks on the metal roof venting systems. If we find evidence of damage to the roof vents first, it usually means you may have sustained shingle damage also.

How can hail damage my siding and guttering systems?

Hail damage to vinyl siding will normally be shown by visual breaks, cracks or holes in the siding product. Normally if these items are not present, your siding has not been damaged. Aluminum siding on the contrary shows damage in other ways. Large hail will produce dents throughout the entire elevation of aluminum siding. Even smaller hail with high velocity crosswinds will produce dents large enough to cause significant damage to the aluminum. Even small dents are considered cosmetic damage by your insurance carrier and in most cases are covered under your property insurance policy. Hail causes similar damages to your aluminum guttering system also. Dents visible from hail are normally cosmetic, but in most cases are still covered by your insurance policy.

The recent storm that hit our area caused significant hail damage to many homes in our area. Golf ball to softball size hail ranging from 1 inch to 4 inch in diameter along with strong winds means you may have sustained damages. Signature Exteriors can help homeowners repair any type of hail damage!

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Roofing hail damage When large hail and strong winds exist near residential areas, homes may sustain considerable hail damage to roofing, siding, gutters. Hail is a large frozen raindrop that is produced by intense thunderstorms where snow and rain coexist. Hail damage can affect your property in many ways.

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A little bit ago, we talked about ways to protect your car during a hailstorm, including what to do before, during, and after a storm. Today, we wanted to take a couple of minutes to share some pointers on how to keep people and pets safe during extreme hail. At Hail Depot, we pride ourselves in knowledgeable, speedy, and affordable hail damage repair for all kinds of auto hail damage and hail dent removal. We also pride ourselves in outstanding customer service, and we care about your safety during hail storms.

A Look At Hail Damage Statistics

According to the National Weather Service, hail is one of the most expensive natural hazards in terms of property damage. In 2015, hail was the second leading expense of property damage caused by natural hazards, preceded only by flash floods. During the course of 2015, hailstorms caused 586 million dollars of property damage, and thankfully, no injuries or fatalities. However, in 2016, hail storms caused a whopping 3.5 billion dollars in damage across the 50 states! That's an average of almost 11 million dollars per US citizen in property damages alone. This, of course, includes damage to residential and commercial buildings, as well as cars and other properties. With that much property damage, it may be surprising to know that there were only 21 reported injuries caused by hail, and like 2015, no fatalities. With that said, it is still important to be prepared to protect yourself and your family during a hailstorm so you don't end up as part of the injury statistics.

So far, 2017 is shaping up to be a "hail of a year." Just last month, baseball-sized hail pounded the Denver, Colorado metro area, punching holes through windshields, stripping the siding off of houses, and forcing an entire shopping mall to close down for the rest of the year to repair damages. This event turned out to be the single most expensive hailstorm in recorded history, with an estimated 1.4 billion dollars in property damage and 150,000 auto insurance claims filed. When a hailstorm of unexpected severity strikes, it is important to know what to do to keep yourself and your family safe.

Here are some tips for staying safe during a hail storm:

If you are in a car:

Stop driving as soon as possible. If you can, try to maneuver your car into a parking garage, under a freeway overpass, or under a gas station or service station awning. If you are on the highway, pull completely off to the side of the road instead of stopping in your lane, even if the hail is very severe. Other drivers may continue to attempt to drive during the storm, and can seriously injure you or themselves if you are stopped in the middle of your lane.

Take cover. If you cannot find the cover of a permanent structure, get as far away from windows as possible. After you have pulled off of the road, cover your face and eyes with a piece of clothing or, even better, your floor mats. If you have young children in the car, cover them as well or put them underneath you. The backseat is the safest place to be during a hailstorm, as the front windshield is more likely to be shattered by incoming hail.

Do not leave the vehicle under any circumstances, even to try to run to take cover in a nearby building. You are safer inside of the car than outside, even if the hail is heavy enough to break your windows.

If you are in a building:

Bring all children and pets inside immediately. As soon as a hail storm is predicted, start rounding up the family and pets and make sure to do a headcount. We know it is quite an experience to watch a hailstorm from the safety of your home, especially for those who do not see them often but avoid gathering by an open door as this is an easy way for pets or curious children to run outside.

Do not go outside until the hail stops. We know you might want to run out to try to move or protect your car, but this is a risk that is not worth taking. If there is an emergency where a child or pet are caught outside and you absolutely need to go outside to retrieve them, take extreme precaution. Move quickly and cover your head with something like a heavy bathmat or even grab a bicycle helmet.

Stay away from windows. If you've ever been caught in a rainstorm that also has strong winds, you might have used the phrase, "It's raining sideways." That same logic applies to hail. Hail often does not fall straight down, meaning it can easily shatter or punch through a window. Keep away from any windows, and take a look up, too, to make sure you aren't under a skylight.

If you are outside:

Take shelter immediately: Try to get inside or under the nearest building. If you are in a residential area but not near your own home, take shelter under a covered porch or other structure.

Protect your head: Ideally, you will be able to find something to cover your entire body. If not, find something - anything - to cover your head. Anything from a jacket to a backpack can offer a little bit of protection. Some protection is better than none at all, and your head is the most vital part to protect. If you are with young children, you can use your body to shield their heads from incoming hail.

Sheltering under a tree is okay, but not ideal. If you absolutely have no other option, you can take shelter under a tree. Make sure to stay close to the trunk and stay alert, as trees often lose branches during hailstorms.

What To Do After A Hail Storm

Making sure that everyone is okay after a hailstorm is the most important thing. Err on the side of caution and seek medical or veterinary attention for any people or animals that may have taken a hard hit from a piece of hail.

After making sure that there have been no injuries, you can assess any car hail damage and decide if you need hail damage repair. It is important at this time to know about your options for auto hail repair. At Hail Depot, we specialize in paintless hail repair, known as paintless dent removal or PDR car repair for short. This means that we use methods that won't require you to get a new paint job to remove dents from hail damage, which can save you thousands of dollars in hair damage repair costs. If you have suffered auto hail damage and are in need of PDR repair, contact your trusted auto dent repair experts at Hail Depot today!

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Tips For Keeping People And Pets Safe During A Hailstorm

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A little bit ago, we talked about ways to protect your car during a hailstorm, including what to do before, during, and after a storm. Today, we wanted to take a couple of minutes to share some pointers on how to keep people and pets safe during extreme hail.

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These hailstorm safety tips can help you limit the damage due to hail, and help with your overall disaster preparedness.

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Severe Weather 101

Hail Basics

What is hail?

Hail is a form of precipitation consisting of solid ice that forms inside thunderstorm updrafts. Hail can damage aircraft, homes and cars, and can be deadly to livestock and people.

Read more about NSSL's hail research here.

How does hail form?

Hailstones are formed when raindrops are carried upward by thunderstorm updrafts into extremely cold areas of the atmosphere and freeze. Hailstones then grow by colliding with liquid water drops that freeze onto the hailstone's surface. If the water freezes instantaneously when colliding with the hailstone, cloudy ice will form as air bubbles will be trapped in the newly formed ice. However, if the water freezes slowly, the air bubbles can escape and the new ice will be clear. The hail falls when the thunderstorm's updraft can no longer support the weight of the hailstone, which can occur if the stone becomes large enough or the updraft weakens.

Hailstones can have layers of clear and cloudy ice if the hailstone encounters different temperature and liquid water content conditions in the thunderstorm. The conditions experienced by the hailstone can change as it passes horizontally across or near an updraft. The layers, however, do not occur simply due to the hailstone going through up and down cycles inside a thunderstorm. The winds inside a thunderstorm aren't simply up and down; horizontal winds exist from either a rotating updraft, like in supercell thunderstorms, or from the surrounding environment's horizontal winds. Hailstones also do not grow from being lofted to the top of the thunderstorm. At very high altitudes, the air is cold enough (below -40°F) that all liquid water will have frozen into ice, and hailstones need liquid water to grow to an appreciable size.

How does hail fall to the ground?

Hail falls when it becomes heavy enough to overcome the strength of the thunderstorm updraft and is pulled toward the earth by gravity. Smaller hailstones can be blown away from the updraft by horizontal winds, so larger hail typically falls closer to the updraft than smaller hail. If the winds near the surface are strong enough, hail can fall at an angle or even nearly sideways! Wind-driven hail can tear up siding on houses, break windows and blow into houses, break side windows on cars, and cause severe injury and/or death to people and animals.

How fast does hail fall?

This is a very complicated answer. The fall speed of hail primarily depends on the size of the hailstone, the friction between the hailstone and surrounding air, the local wind conditions (both horizontal and vertical), and the degree of melting of the hailstone. Early research assumed that hailstones fell like solid ice spheres and showed very high fall speeds, even for very small hailstones. However, recent research outside of NSSL using 3-D printed casts of real hailstones suspended in a vertical wind tunnel has repeatedly shown that natural hailstones fall more slowly than solid ice spheres. For small hailstones (<1-inch in diameter), the expected fall speed is between 9 and 25 mph. For hailstones that one would typically see in a severe thunderstorm (1-inch to 1.75-inch in diameter), the expected fall speed is between 25 and 40 mph. In the strongest supercells that produce some of the largest hail one might expect to see (2-inches to 4-inches in diameter), the expected fall speed is between 44 and 72 mph. However, there is much uncertainty in these estimates due to variability in the hailstone's shape, degree of melting, fall orientation, and the environmental conditions. However, it is possible for very large hailstones (diameters exceeding 4-inches) to fall at over 100 mph.

What areas have the most hail?

Although Florida has the most thunderstorms, Nebraska, Colorado, and Wyoming usually have the most hailstorms. The area where these three states meet - "hail alley" - averages seven to nine hail days per year. Other parts of the world that have damaging hailstorms include China, Russia, India and northern Italy.

When viewed from the air, it is evident that hail falls in paths known as hail swaths. These occur as storms move while the hail is falling out They can range in size from a few acres to an area 10 miles wide and 100 miles long. Some storms, instead of producing large hail, instead produce copious amounts of small hail. Storms like these have produced hail drifts that, when captured in clogged drainage channels, formed piles of hail several feet deep. Hail that completely covers roadways is especially hazardous because if deep enough, a vehicle's tires may not touch the roadway at all, with the vehicle instead driving on the hail, which acts exactly like an icy roadway in the winter.

How large can hail get?

The largest hailstone recovered in the United States fell in Vivian, South Dakota, on June 23, 2010, with a diameter of 8 inches and a circumference of 18.62 inches. It weighed 1 lb 15 oz.

Estimating Hail Size

Hail size is often estimated by comparing it to a known object. Most hailstorms are made up of a mix of different sizes, and only the very largest hail stones pose serious risk to people caught in the open. When reporting hail, estimates comparing the hail to a known object with definite size are good, but measurements using a ruler, calipers, or a tape measure are best.

Pea = 1/4 inch diameter

Mothball = 1/2 inch diameter

Penny = 3/4 inch diameter

Nickel = 7/8 inch

Quarter = 1 inch - hail quarter size or larger is considered severe

Ping-Pong Ball = 1 1/2 inch

Golf Ball = 1 3/4 inches

Tennis Ball = 2 1/2 inches

Baseball = 2 3/4 inches

Tea cup = 3 inches

Softball = 4 inches

Grapefruit = 4 1/2 inches

NSSL's mPING project collects reports from the public about hail and other weather phenomena in their vicinity via a free mobile app. This data is used to refine radar algorithms that detect hail, and to enhance climatological information about hail in the U.S. Similarly, the Severe Hail Verification Experiment (SHAVE) collected data on hail by making phone calls to the public along the path of selected storms. NSSL is involved in using high-speed photography to try to capture large hailstones in natural free-fall to confirm hailstone fall velocity estimates and tumbling characteristics of those hailstones.

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Basic information about hail, from the NOAA National Severe Storms Laboratory.