Stars and Bars RestorationWe watched the radar light up across the Arkansas Valley on the evening of September 20th, and by the time it was over, the National Weather Service in Pueblo had issued a stretch of severe thunderstorm warnings that read like a worst-case list for anyone with a roof, a vehicle, or a garden. Storm cells tracked across Otero, Crowley, and Bent counties between about 6 PM and midnight, and the warning text for the cell that hit hardest — moving through the area around 9:46 PM MDT — called for 80 mph wind gusts and two inch hail. That's not a typo. Two-inch hail is baseball to hen-egg sized, and 80 mph gusts are well into the range that peels shingles, snaps tree limbs, and pushes debris through windows.
If you're in La Junta, Ordway, Rocky Ford, Las Animas, or anywhere along that Highway 50/Highway 96 corridor and you heard that storm come through, this is exactly the kind of event we tell people not to shrug off. Pueblo County caught warnings from the same storm system too, with a separate cell bringing two-inch hail and 70 mph gusts through the southeastern part of the county around 10:20 PM.
What the Warnings Actually Said
We pulled the National Weather Service alert record directly rather than going off secondhand reports, and here's what was confirmed for this event:
- 10:46 PM MDT, Bent/Crowley/Otero counties: Severe Thunderstorm Warning — "70 mph wind gusts and ping pong ball size hail."
- 10:20 PM MDT, Bent/Crowley/Otero/Pueblo counties: Severe Thunderstorm Warning — "Two inch hail and 70 mph wind gusts."
- 9:46 PM MDT, Bent/Crowley/Otero counties: Severe Thunderstorm Warning — "80 mph wind gusts and two inch hail."
- A Severe Thunderstorm Watch covering Bent, Crowley, El Paso, Kiowa, Otero, Prowers, and Pueblo counties stayed in effect until 3 AM.
- Earlier the same evening, a Tornado Warning was briefly issued for rural southeastern El Paso County (near Truckton, well northeast of Pueblo) on radar-indicated rotation. It was cancelled within about 20 minutes as the tornado threat diminished, though the severe hail and wind threat continued.
That's three separate rounds of destructive hail and wind moving back through the same three counties over about an hour — which means some properties in Ordway, La Junta, and the Las Animas area may have taken more than one hit that night, not just one pass.
Why This Storm Is Different From a "Normal" Hail Warning
Hail warnings happen a lot in southeastern Colorado between late spring and early fall, and most of them call for quarter-size or half-dollar-size hail — damaging, but survivable for most roofs without major intervention. Two-inch hail is a different category entirely. At that size, hailstones don't just crack shingle mats — they can put through-holes in metal roofing and siding, shatter greenhouse and vehicle glass outright, and strip leaves and bark off mature trees. Combined with 70-80 mph wind gusts, hail that size comes in at an angle, which means damage isn't limited to your roofline — expect impacts on windward-facing siding, windows, and anything left outside.
If you farm or garden — and a lot of Otero and Crowley County properties do — this kind of hail at this size can flatten a late-season crop in minutes, which is its own kind of loss separate from the structural damage.
What to Check This Week
Start outside, in daylight. Walk the perimeter of your home and any outbuildings. Look at gutters and downspouts for dents — soft aluminum shows hail damage more obviously than an asphalt shingle does, so a dented gutter is often your first real clue you took a significant hit. Check window screens, exterior AC condenser fins, and any exposed wood trim.
Look up, carefully. Two-inch hail can crack the fiberglass mat under shingle granules without visibly tearing the shingle. That kind of damage doesn't leak right away — it leaks the next time it rains hard, sometimes weeks later, after you've already told your insurer nothing happened. If you can safely access your attic, check the underside of the roof deck and rafters for new water staining, especially near vents and chimneys.
Check vehicles and outbuildings, not just the house. Two-inch hail dents vehicle roofs and hoods and can crack windshields outright. Metal-roofed sheds and barns common on rural Otero and Bent County properties are especially vulnerable to hail this size — check for punctures, not just dents.
Photograph everything before cleanup. Insurance adjusters want to see storm damage as the storm left it. Photos taken in the days right after the event, timestamped and dated, carry a lot more weight than photos taken after a week of wind and rain has moved debris around or after a "storm chaser" crew has already started tarping things for you.
If Water Already Got In
If wind-driven rain or hail impact already got past your roof, siding, or window seals, don't wait on a claim number before you start drying things out. Wet drywall and insulation start growing mold within 24 to 48 hours, and every day you wait adds to both the damage and the eventual repair bill. We're a phone call away at (719) 676-2456, and as a veteran-owned, IICRC-certified crew, we can typically get someone out to Otero, Crowley, or Bent County properties within the day for anything storm-related.
We also work directly with insurance adjusters on hail and wind claims — which matters a lot with damage this size, because insurers sometimes try to separate "cosmetic" dents from damage that actually compromises the roof, and good documentation from day one is what settles that argument in your favor. If your claim gets pushback anyway, our guide on what to do after a denied hail claim walks through the next steps.
Watch for Storm Chasers
Every hail event like this one draws out-of-town roofing crews into small towns along Highway 50 within a day or two, offering free inspections and pressuring homeowners to sign contracts on the spot. Some of them are legitimate. A lot of them are gone before a warranty issue ever comes up. We put together a list of questions to ask before hiring any restoration or roofing company — use it before you sign anything this week.
Stars & Bars has done storm and water damage work across this part of southern Colorado for years, including in La Junta and Otero County and Fowler and Crowley County. If the September 20th storm hit your roof, siding, windows, or outbuildings anywhere from Rocky Ford to Las Animas, call us at (719) 676-2456 for a free damage assessment, or email services@sb-resto.com. We'll tell you honestly if the damage is cosmetic — but with hail this size, we'd rather you get checked out this week than find a leak in your ceiling next month.