Softball-sized hail created bloody chaos at 1995 Fort Worth Mayfest, captured in photos

It’s been 29 years since a deadly hailstorm injured dozens of people at Fort Worth’s annual Mayfest .

Just after 7 p.m. on May 5, 1995, thousands of Mayfest attendees were bombarded by baseball-sized hailstones in Trinity Park. At the festival alone, 60 people were injured from the storm.

The hail grew to softball-sized as the storm moved east through Fort Worth, crashing down on homes and vehicles. Flooding was also a concern that night as 16 people died and over 400 people across North Texas suffered injuries.

In total, the storms caused $2 billion in damages in Tarrant and Dallas counties, according to the National Weather Service. The event remains one of the costliest hailstorms in U.S. history.

It is no surprise that the deadly storm occurred in May . This is the time of year when North Texas sees severe thunderstorms, many of which bring large hail and spawn tornadoes. Dallas-Fort Worth has seen its share of tornadoes grow and become more intense in the past 20 years.

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Mayfest returns to Fort Worth’s Trinity Park this weekend from May 2-5. Go online to buy tickets and find more information about this year’s festivities.

Below are photos from the Star-Telegram archives of the 1995 Mayfest hailstorm:

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