North Phoenix neighborhood slammed by severe storm, damaging hail
Metrocenter pelted by hail and 60 mph winds
A severe storm brought strong winds and hail to the Metrocenter area in Phoenix. FOX 10's Steve Nielsen was there, as lots of people walked outside to find their cars heavily damaged.
PHOENIX - Severe weather, including hail, hit homes and cars earlier Wednesday afternoon, leaving windows smashed in a north Phoenix neighborhood near 19th Avenue and Peoria.
Severe weather brought golf ball-sized hail and destructive winds to north Phoenix, smashing windows and damaging cars on Wednesday, Oct. 21, 2026.
Local perspective:
Extensive damage occurred to a nearby Family Dollar and surrounding houses on Oct. 21, where windows were smashed, glass covered the floor, and the exteriors of homes were damaged. Multiple car windows were also broken by the hail, catching local residents by surprise.
"There was hail that was in my hallway about the size of golf balls," said Christina Gonzales, a Phoenix resident who described the damaging hail hitting her home Wednesday afternoon. "Even the walls were shaking, and then the windows were all rattling."
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The hail stones smashed through the windows of her home and several other homes in her neighborhood.
"There was just glass coming, just shooting from one of the bedrooms down the hallway because the window got busted out," Gonzales said.
The hail peppered holes into the side of her home.
"It was just so loud and then as soon as I got up off my bed, I could just feel the ground shaking," Gonzales said.
That was when she decided to take cover.
"The only area I had was in my stairway where there was no windows so we were just in the middle of the stairway just waiting until it kind of calmed down for a minute," Gonzales said.
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âThis got broken, that got brokenâ
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It was not just her home that sustained damage.
"Even though it was under the carport, this got broken, that got broken, and then I have a whole bunch of hail damage dents," Gonzales said, pointing to her car's hood.
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Hail also damaged other cars in the area, smashing windshields, hoods, and back windows.
"It kind of shocked me because I was driving, and it just came down, and it dented my car, almost as if somebody came with a hammer and hit at my car a thousand times around my whole car on top of my windshield," said Jocquil Robinson, whose car was hit by hail. "So now I have to get a whole new windshield."
Neighbors are hoping the weather does not repeat itself.
"Hopefully there's no more storm tonight because if there is, my upstairs is completely exposed," Gonzales said.
Mesa storm damage: Trees down, cars smashed by powerful winds
Storm clean-up is underway in Mesa after powerful winds knocked down large trees, damaged vehicles, and toppled tall lights at a local park.
Big picture view:
Hail was not the only severe weather element that affected the area. Strong winds knocked down trees a short distance away.
The storm also brought strong winds and hail to the Metro Center area in Phoenix. Lots of people walked outside to find their cars heavily damaged.
"It’s not like the tree fell on it. This is just the hail. You can see the holes," Sylvia Green said. "Felt the building shaky and I came out and saw hail, but this was my first opportunity to see my car."
Her car was pelted and destroyed by the baseball-sized hail. In the same parking lot in the Metro Center area at Peoria and 31st avenues, a tree was uprooted and collected piles of hail that had not melted for hours.
Green was inside her workplace when the 60 mph winds rushed through.
"I’m up in the 4th floor. They were out taking videos and I could just see the hail and the wind," Green said.
'A nightmare'
Storm leaves behind damage:
Nearly every car was damaged, with their metal bodies dimpled like golf balls.
"A nightmare. My poor baby is demolished. I’m hoping insurance will take care of this," Green said.
Other lots in the area suffered similar fates, with trees down everywhere and tow trucks working non-stop taking damaged cars away. Branches and leaves cover streets, and one large branch landed inside a porch.
When this massive branch blew off, it ripped the letters off the dd's DISCOUNTS sign. The broken plastic letters smashed on the ground.
Inside the Big 5, Nathan Carrillo said customers and employees worked together.
"They actually helped us keep the doors closed because the storm was trying to keep them open. Ice was hitting the doors, the wind was pulling the air out of the store. It was hard to keep the doors closed even with a few of us doing it," Carrillo said.
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The Source: Information in this report was gathered from Christina Gonzales, a Phoenix resident; Jocquil Robinson, a driver whose car was hit by hail; Sylvia Green, a local worker located on the fourth floor during the storm; and Nathan Carrillo, a worker inside Big 5.