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© MICHAEL J. FITZGERALD / CORRESPONDENT PHOTORiesling grapes were split by hail on Tuesday at Sawmill Creek in Hector.
An isolated but intense hailstorm caused serious damage to grapes and other crops in the Hector area Tuesday.

The storm swept in about 3:30 p.m. and brought high winds, hail and heavy rain.

Some vineyards were minimally affected by the storm, but others weren't as lucky.

"I was at my other job at Hazlitt (1852 Vineyards) when the storm hit. My kids were home at the time. They said they saw some hail that was golf ball size," said Fred Wickham, owner of Tango Oaks Farm in Hector.

"I went out late (Tuesday) and did a crop assessment. In addition to wine grapes, I grow peaches that I sell fresh. They were already compromised by the excessively long and cold winter. It's 100 percent loss on the peaches. They were pulverized by the hail.

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© MICHAEL J. FITZGERALD / CORRESPONDENT PHOTOA peach shows hail damage at Tango Oaks farm in Hector.
"I grow about four or five varieties of grapes. We lost about 30 percent on top of the winter loss," Wickham said. " I haven't been out to look at pears and apples yet. I'm busy trying to fix the grapes."

Staffers at Atwater Estates and Leidenfrost Vineyards in Hector reported minimal damage, but one of the vineyards that supplies several area wineries sustained considerable crop damage.

Sawmill Creek Vineyards doesn't make it own wine but sells grapes to about 20 area wineries, said co-owner Tina Hazlitt.

The hailstorm caused the worst damage Hazlitt has seen in 10 years.

"It probably hailed for a full 10 minutes. I've never seen anything like that," she said. "It was just crazy, coming hard out of the north, then swung back out of the east, almost like a circular pattern.

"Overall across the farm I'd say we had about 30 percent damage, which hurts on top of all the winter damage. We had a reduced crop anyway," Hazlitt said. "I would say this is the worst we've had since 2004. All the rain is killing us, too."