ST. CHARLES COUNTY — Hail pelted parts of Wentzville Tuesday night as thunderstorms rolled through the St. Louis area. Hundreds of homes were reported damaged, including Doug Standish’s home in the Meadows of Williamsburg subdivision.
“It was loud and it went on for a while,” he said.
Standish said his home sustained damage to the roof, siding, doors and windows. State Farm declared the damage a catastrophe, a classification that automatically sends extra adjusters to the area.
Storm victims are advised to talk to others before choosing a contractor and to be wary of out-of-town contractors.
Carrie Crouch is the director of consumer affairs for the Missouri Department of Commerce and Insurance.
“Make sure you’re dealing with reputable contractors,” Crouch said. “We don’t want anybody to get scammed by somebody who might do substandard work and then leave town.”
The hail was described as loud and long, lasting 10 minutes or more.
“You would have thought someone was dropping buckets of golf balls on our house,” said Karin Crowder.
Karin and Brian Crowder’s house has extensive damage to the siding and the roof is probably damaged as well. But they are looking on the bright side.
“We are just thankful that no one was hurt,” Brian Crowder said.
Storm victims who are having trouble dealing with their insurance company can call the Consumer Affairs Division of the Missouri Department of Commerce and Insurance.