Working quickly in the garage of his McKinney home, Roy Ponder moved boxes up to the attic to clear space for his family's cars.
"The hail is coming, I've got to have a space for me and my wife's car," said Ponder, who moved into his home two days ago. "Just being proactive, getting it ready for the big event tomorrow."
Parts of McKinney were not spared in a hail storm that hit North Texas March 24. That hail event sent Justin Novella online, to hunt for possible solutions to protect his cars.
"The last three years, I've had hail damage and had to do a claim," Novella said. "It's a pain."
With severe weather in the forecast Wednesday, Novella planned to test the Hail Protector -- a device that resembles a giant marshmallow when fully inflated.
"It gets lots of stares and lots of looks, for sure," Novella said.
Once wrapped around the car and secured, the device inflates to provide an air cushion.
Local
The latest news from around North Texas.
Inventor Michael Siciliano from Gunter, Texas said the Hail Protector has been tested against large, powerful hail and the company gets slammed with orders when storms are in the forecast.
Siciliano said orders received early Tuesday would ship out in time to reach local customers on Wednesday. Late-day orders wouldn't make it before storms are forecast to develop across North Texas, bringing the threat of hail, damaging winds and a tornado.
The device costs between $199 and $279, depending on vehicle size.
Novella said it takes practice to put one on. He recommended trying it out early, long before storms hit.
"Now, anytime it rains, we've got these things out," Novella said.
