On July 22, 2026, powerful thunderstorms swept across several parts of the United States, but eastern Colorado experienced the day’s most significant hailstorm. Supercell thunderstorms produced hail that reached up to 3 inches in diameter in areas around Sterling, Brush, Arriba, Aroya, and near Denver International Airport, damaging homes, vehicles, crops, and windows. The storms developed as extremely hot air collided with a strong cold front, creating ideal conditions for giant hail.

Residents described the storm as one of the loudest they had ever witnessed. Golf ball- to baseball-sized hail pounded rooftops within minutes, leaving shattered windshields, dented vehicles, and stripped tree branches behind. Emergency crews responded to numerous reports of property damage while farmers assessed heavy losses to fields that had been close to harvest.

Although hail was also reported in Texas, Virginia, Maryland, Massachusetts, Maine, and New Hampshire, none of those storms matched the size or concentration of the hail that fell across eastern Colorado. The National Weather Service had warned of severe thunderstorms capable of producing damaging hail, and the forecasts proved accurate as multiple supercells intensified during the afternoon.

By the end of the day, July 22 had become one of the most damaging severe-weather events of the month in the central High Plains. The Colorado hailstorm stood out as the day’s largest and most destructive hail event, serving as another reminder that summer supercells can unleash devastating ice within minutes, even under otherwise clear and hot July skies,
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