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Severe San Antonio thunderstorm and winds result in hail storm inside the Alamodome
Shutterstock / Felix Mizioznikov
City officials said strong blew the ice pellets into air vents on the Alamodome roof.
A University Interscholastic League women’s basketball game was postponed Thursday night as winds from a severe thunderstorm in San Antonio caused hail to fall from the Alamodome’s roof onto spectators.
With a little more than five minutes to go in the semifinal matchup between the Wagner Thunderbirds and Frisco Liberty Redhawks, hail pellets rained down inside the building, leading athletes to exit the court while fans sought shelter.
Uh…this is a first for me. Covering a semifinal game at the UIL State Girls Bball championship tournament and game had to be stopped with 5:35 left b/w Wagner & Liberty b/c hail came through the roof at the Alamodome ☔️😳 pic.twitter.com/zO5VoLTea8
— Sam Owens (@SamOwensphoto) March 3, 2023
“Uh… this is a first for me,” Express-News sports photojournalist Sam Owens wrote on Twitter. She shared video of league officials trying to clear the hail from the court with towels.
It’s actually hailing inside the @Alamodome
Because it’s hailing so bad outside. @ashley_pickle12 I know you see this. #thisaintreal pic.twitter.com/KMe4YEZHyA— Coach Codutti (@coachcodutti) March 3, 2023
“It’s actually hailing inside the Alamodome because it’s hailing so bad outside,” Fulshear High School Football Coach Nick Codutti said on Twitter.
A representative for the city’s convention and sports facilities told the Express-News that wind was primarily to blame for the icy pellets getting inside the dome.
Alamodome spokesman Richard Oliver told the daily that wind gusts — which at times reached 60 mph Thursday night — caused the hail to blow sideways into exhaust fan vents on the stadium’s roof.
The game eventually resumed once the hail stopped. The Redhawks ultimately beat the Thunderbirds 62-51.
Even so, the strong winds from Thursday’s severe thunderstorm have wreaked havoc across parts of San Antonio. More than 350 CPS customers are still without power as of press time due to downed power lines and fallen limbs, according to the utility’s website.
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