June Hailstorm Racks Up $276 Million In Damages, The 8th Most Costly In State History

<p>(AP Photo/P. Solomon Banda)</p>
<p><span style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 16px; background-color: rgb(244, 244, 244);">Patrick Clark inspects his damaged car after a strong spring storm moved through the metropolitan Denver area Monday afternoon, May 8, 2017.</span></p>
Photo: June Climate Buddies
Patrick Clark inspects his damaged car after a strong spring storm moved through the metropolitan Denver area Monday afternoon, May 8, 2017.

Golf ball and even baseball-sized hail battered Northern Colorado and the Denver metro area last week, causing more than $276 million in damage. The Rocky Mountain Insurance Information Association said almost 50,000 insurance claims have been filed.

The bulk of those claims were for vehicles — 250 cars at a Stevinson Lexus dealership in Frederick alone were damaged by the storm on June 19. The rest were for damaged homes and property.

Last week’s storm was the eighth most expensive in state history, the insurance association said. The most costly was the May 2017 hailstorm that resulted in $2 billion in damage.

"The size and amount of hail that battered counties throughout the Front Range is unfortunately part of a pattern of catastrophic events the state has been experiencing during the past several years,” association director Carole Walker said in a statement.

In the last decade, hailstorms have cost Colorado more than $3 billion in insurance losses. Colorado is ranked second in the nation for the most hail insurance claims, behind Texas.