Lemon-sized hail rains down on Texas Hill Country as severe weather continues

While the thunderstorms that rolled through the region Monday evening didn’t produce a funnel-shaped cloud, they did produce hail, lightning shows and some flooding that made for a wild end to the Memorial Day weekend for residents in Gillespie and Kendall counties. The area is facing a severe thunderstorm threat again on Tuesday, May 27.

One of the biggest concerns from these storms is their potential to produce hail capable of causing property damage. On Monday night, Nancy Espinoza, a Fredericksburg resident, snapped a photo of one lemon-sized chunk of hail. The photo shows the spiky-looking ice next to a good-sized lemon.

Interactive Hail Maps, an online hail reporting system, showed several reports of teacup- to golf ball-sized hail in Gillespie County, where Fredericksburg is located, between 6 and 8 p.m., following the tornado watch issued by the National Weather Service.

The possibility of the tornado prompted a visit from the Texas Storm Chasers, who chronicled their search for tornadoes on Monday night.

Jones also later caught video of a lightning storm over Boerne as the tornado risk continued. 

Katlyn Stamper took video near Fredericksburg and Mason, Texas, at around 6 p.m., showing an electric green sky. 

“At the time I took this video, a tornado warning for that area was being issued,” Stamper said. 

In the Boerne area, one resident posted a video of a flash flood that closed Rolling Acres Trail, a residential street in Fair Oaks Ranch. 

In Kerrville, Lawrence Campbell also saw a large cloud front heading his way as he watched closely for a potential tornado. He said he believes he briefly saw what might have been a funnel cloud, but ultimately, nothing touched down. 

“No hail, some rain, some lightning, thunder,” he told MySA. “But it all passed us.”