May 20, 2013

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Hail hits Gatlinburg hard

GATLINBURG, Tenn (WVLT)-- Broken windshields, tail lights, dents, all caused by hail. Sound familiar?

Now people in Gatlinburg are dealing with the headache of more car repairs and insurance claims.

Hail pounded down on hundreds of cars. That's expensive for you and me, but for a car dealer, a worst nightmare

"Three windshields on the lot, every hood is damaged. I mean it broke plastic, it broke taillights, it just did a little everything," said Kevin Flannery.

Every car, truck and S.U.V on the lot of "Car and Jeep Rentals" got hit.

"It's got puddles in the trunk, the roof, the hood. The taillights are broken out, the plastic rim is broken out," said Flannery.

He wasn't safe from the hail, getting hit three times in the head trying to move some cars.

"I mean you couldn't run scramble fast enough. What are you gonna do, lay on your windshield?" said Flannery.

Up the road at City Hall, hail crashed down on the parking lot.

"About every police car we have has been damaged or dented in some way," said Gatlinburg Police Chief Randall Brackins.

"A lot of wrecker services are gonna do pretty well from this little storm, and hopefully that's all we're gonna get," said Jim Davis with the City of Gatlinburg.

Only pea-sized hail hit downtown, but it was enough to cancel the always popular Ribfest. But there is some good news.

The police and fire departments and other vendors are donating thousands of pounds of ribs to the Sevier County Food Ministry.

"Hopefully in this bad event make something positive. Someone who otherwise wouldn't have now will have the opportunity for a hot meal this evening," said Fire Chief Greg Miller.

While there may be hundreds of thousands of dollars in damage, no one got hurt.

Reminder for everyone that bought tickets to Ribfest, you can bring your bracelets down to City Hall on Friday morning starting at 8:30 to get your full refund.