Hail storms damage local businesses
Local radio station, car dealership hit

Stormy weather and isolated hail over the weekend wreaked havoc with outdoor plans as well as with property owners.

Several soccer games were cancelled due to muddy fields and high winds caused limited use of area lakes.

The wind driven rain caused problems with KWRW-FM radio when moisture inside the main transmitter caused it to fail for a period of three hours Sunday.

Greg James Country Motors did not escape the hail damage either. Over 130 new and used automobiles were damaged by the hail.

"This is the first time in my 28 years in the automobile business that this has happened to me," said Mr. James.

The hail was driven by high winds causing damage to not only the top of vehicles, but also the sides of them, added Mr. James.

Damage to his vehicles could top $75,000 from the storm, according to Mr. James.

Local property owners also reported damage. Austin Young, State Farm agent, told the Cherokeean Herald his phones were ringing all day on Monday from his clients calling to report damage from the weekend storms.

"Most of the hail was small, but some people said they had hail the size of a quarter and one man froze a hail stone in his freezer that was one inch in diameter."

Generally, damage was light, said Mr. Young, with no reports of glass breakage due to the hail storm.

Those who think they received hail damage from the storms should contact their insurance agents.