Here's how to protect your car last-minute during a hailstorm

AUSTIN, Texas — If you’ve lived in Texas long enough, chances are you’ve been burned by a nasty hailstorm at least once in your life.

Storms in Texas can bring all kinds of storms and sometimes large-sized hail in just a matter of minutes. If you only have a small window to prepare and don’t have access to covered parking, here’s what you can do.

Windshields and sunroofs are always the first thing to go during a hailstorm.

First, you’ll want to push in your side mirrors to protect them. There are some items you can find in your garage to help minimize damage. You could drape your vehicle with a towel or blanket to protect it, but that’s not always effective.

To start as a base, you can use moving blankets or some kind of tarp, particularly a tarp with holes that would make it easy to weave a rope or bungee cord through to secure it to the vehicle. Take the hooks and find a place to anchor them underneath the vehicle.

Next, find some cardboard. You can slide the cardboard underneath the tarp, or however you choose, to add an extra layer of protection.

Lastly, it may sound crazy, but if you have a bag of garden soil, use it on your windshield. The bag is so heavy and fits perfectly over a sunroof or a majority of your windshield. It will help secure the tarp and cardboard box if wind is also an issue.

You can also use your windshield covers outside of the vehicle to protect your back window.

Parking under the nearest tree is ultimately your last resort.

In Central Texas, we know it doesn’t take much for tree limbs to break, but if you can’t find cover anywhere else or have limited resources to protect your glass.

There are also hail car covers available for purchase if you don’t have a garage or covered parking. We found some on Amazon that ranged from $60 to $500 that claim they could be installed within minutes.

Stay safe out there, y’all.