Hail season in Fort Collins: what to do when your windshield gets hit
When Front Range hail season runs, what hail does to auto glass, and the steps to take in the first 48 hours after a storm.
Fort Collins averages several significant hail events each summer. The storms usually fire in the mid afternoon, build over the foothills, and track east across town between roughly 2 and 7 p.m. The season runs from the last weeks of April through early September, with June and July the busiest months.
What hail actually does to a windshield
Modern windshields are two layers of glass laminated around a plastic sheet. Small hail usually leaves pits and short cracks in the outer layer only. Those are repairable if each chip is smaller than a quarter and not in the driver's direct line of sight. Golf-ball hail and larger tends to crack both layers or leave a spiderweb of fractures, which means the glass has to be replaced.
The first 48 hours
- Photograph everything before you drive, including the roof and hood. Your insurer will want the date, time, and photos.
- Cover any open cracks with clear packing tape to keep moisture and dirt out. Dirt in a chip makes it harder to get a clean repair.
- Avoid the car wash and the defroster on high. Rapid temperature change is what turns a chip into a crack that runs across the glass.
- File the comprehensive claim the same day. After a big storm, glass shops across Larimer County book out fast, and insurers process claims in the order they arrive.
Repair or replace?
If the damage is a handful of small chips outside the wiper sweep in front of the driver, repair is faster, cheaper, and usually free under a comprehensive policy. If there is a crack longer than about six inches, damage at the edge of the glass, or anything that distorts your view, replacement is the safer call.
Either way, do not wait. A chipped windshield on a pickup that gets parked outside in a Fort Collins August will almost always spread within a few weeks.