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It has been six months to the day since baseball-sized hail punctured Dayton’s south suburbs, but the impact of that storm continues to resonate.
The May 25 hailstorm primarily struck Bellbrook, Sugarcreek Twp. and Centerville — where a small tornado also touched down — and incurred millions of dollars in damage to local homes, businesses and vehicles.
At the same time, the storm infused the local economy with work and provided funds for residents to upgrade their properties.
“The cost of the storm actually helped a lot of businesses, with the economy the way it is,” said Mike Coleman, manager of Centerville Body Shop.
“There’s no doubt we got blessed by it all. A lot of places got extra work from this.”
Near-record damages
Although not part of the same system, the May 25 storm took place just three days after the devastating tornado that leveled Joplin, Mo., killing 161 people. In Dayton, the damage was fixable.
The Ohio Insurance Institute reported that between May 20-26 residents across the state had insured losses of more than $322 million due to large hail and tornado-like activity.
Only the 1974 Xenia tornado super-outbreak, which caused an estimated $1 billion in damages, and the Hurricane Ike windstorm in 2008 ($1.1 billion) were more costly.
Auto dealerships alone — whose multimillion-dollar inventories are exposed to the elements — sustained $80.4 million in losses statewide in the May storm.
Butch Spencer, general manager of Bob Ross Buick GMC in Centerville, said his dealership had roughly $1.3 million in damages to its cars and trucks and $300,000 in property damage.
“It was a pain in the backside,” said Spencer, who said this storm was a first in his 36 years in the business. “It has been a six-month process. We’re just now finishing up.”
Coleman said the volume of cars that needed to be repaired easily trumped that of Hurricane Ike.
“With Ike, we had work for three months maybe, but not the thousands of cars like this one,” Coleman said. “It’s just as bad now as it was when it hit.”
Hail ‘blowing sideways’
Randy Warren, who lives in Sugarcreek Twp., recalled large hail coming in through his double-paned windows and shooting across the dining room on May 25.
“It was coming at 70 and 80 miles per hour, and blowing sideways,” he said. “I’ve lived in the Dayton area my whole life, and I’ve never seen hail like that.”
Warren’s home and company car sustained nearly $30,000 in damage.
“There was not a gutter or downspout that didn’t look like someone stood back and threw baseballs at it,” he said.
Jay Moran of A-Abel Click Brothers Roofing & Siding said that even though his company installed twice as many replacement roofs compared to the same time period in 2010, at 120 jobs, there still is a backlog into the spring.
“Our repair work also significantly increased — siding, gutters and related components were damaged as well,” Moran said.
Silver lining
Spencer said his auto dealership handled the storm’s impact by discounting damaged cars, working overtime and getting help from other dealers.
“We took a very, very bad situation and put a positive spin on it,” said Spencer, noting that his team worked seven days a week on the dealership’s new cars as well as those brought in by customers.
Brian Smith, owner of Bellbrook Doors N More, said his small business initially was overwhelmed by the volume of customers generated by the storm, noting that he received 163 calls in three days.
But he said the storm affected his business for the better.
“I don’t think going through something like that is ever a complete positive, just due to the danger of storm,” Smith said. “But it enabled me to go from (employing) three guys to nine, and keep them rolling all summer.”
He added that the storm provided a much-needed boost for the local housing market, “because every house got a face-lift.”
Centerville’s economic development director, Nathan Cahall, agreed.
“The storm has been a blessing in disguise in the downtown (Centerville) area, especially,” Cahall said. “People have been able to update the housing stock. I have seen a comprehensive upgrade.”
Contact this reporter at (937) 225-7325 or jikelley@Dayton DailyNews.com.
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