Could severe storms in Texas have an impact on Tuesday night’s Game 5 between the Minnesota Wild and Dallas Stars?
All we know for now is that NOAA’s Storm Prediction Center has slapped red blob, representing a level 4 of 5 moderate risk for severe storms, right over the Dallas-Fort Worth metro area — and the main threat is GIANT hail.
“Very large to giant hail (2-4+ inches) may occur with the strongest supercells given the overall very favorable environment,” the Storm Prediction Center said. “Some tornado threat may also exist with these supercells, even though low-level shear is not forecast to be overly strong.”
The National Weather Service has Dallas under a tornado watch until 9 p.m., with the Fort Worth office of the NWS telling people to “stay home this evening if you can!”
The Wild and Stars are scheduled to start just after 7 p.m. CT. While they’re on the ice inside the American Airlines Center, huge chunks of ice could be falling from the storm clouds outside.
The HRRR weather model shows intense storms blowing up northwest of Dallas around 3 p.m., and impacting the Dallas-Fort Worth metro between 5-8 p.m.
Hailstones 2-4+ inches in diameter would be huge. A 4-inch hailstone is like a softball-sized piece of ice falling from the sky. For context, a 2-inch hailstone is the size of a hen egg, while you get tennis balls at 2.5 inches and baseballs at 2.75 inches. A 3-inch hailstone is considered a teacup. Once you get to 4.5 inches, you’ve reached the grapefruit stage.
Apr 18, 2026; Dallas, Texas, USA; Fans wait for the doors to open before the Minnesota Wild play the Dallas Stars in game one of the first round of the 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs at American Airlines Center. Mandatory Credit: Thomas Shea-Imagn ImagesCredit: Thomas Shea-Imagn Images
The largest recorded hailstone in U.S. history fell in Vivian, South Dakota, in 2010. It was the size of a volleyball, measured at 8.0 inches in diameter and weighing nearly 2 pounds.
The Texas record hailstone fell in the small town of Hondo in 2021, measuring a whopping 6.4 inches in diameter. Coincidentally, that record-setting hail fell exactly five years ago on April 28, 2021.
Gargantuan hailstone that fell at approximately 0035 UTC 29 April 2021 1SSW Hondo, Texas. Picture taken by the finder on 4 May 2021, six days after it fell and had been stored unbagged in a standard home freezer. Picture taken by the finder on 4 May 2021, six days after it fell and had been stored unbagged in a standard home freezer. National Centers for Environmental Information
This story was originally published by Bring Me The News on Apr 28, 2026, where it first appeared in the MN Sports section. Add Bring Me The News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.