A violent hailstorm that unleashed hail the size of baseballs wreaked havoc across Missouri, causing significant damage to homes and nearly 500 vehicles.
Massive chunks of hail pelted parts of Kansas and Missouri Wednesday night, bringing traffic to a standstill along Interstate 70 as storms sparked possible tornadoes.
The storm damaged at least 450 cars at a Ford dealership, shattered windshields and dented hoods, with buildings and roads also affected by the onslaught.
Startling video footage captured the relentless hail as it pounded the region.
A violent hailstorm that unleashed hail the size of baseballs wreaked havoc across Missouri, causing significant damage to homes and nearly 500 vehicles
The county’s Emergency Operations Center did not escape unscathed, with personal and county vehicles also suffering damage, Fox 2 reported.
There were three unconfirmed reports of tornadoes in Wabaunsee and Shawnee counties, with reports of damaged structures, but no reports of damage or damaged homes, according to meteorologist Matt Wolters of the National Weather Service’s Topeka office.
Survey teams plan to go out Thursday to evaluate the damage, he said.
There were reports of 4-inch hail, nearly softball size, in the town of Wabaunsee and 3-inch hail in Geary County near Junction City and Fort Riley, Wolters said.
Descriptions of the hailstones ranged from the size of golf balls and apples to softballs and baseballs.
Alex Sosnowski, senior meteorologist at AccuWeather, previously said the predicted hail was considered ‘gorilla hail’ because it had the potential to be so large.
“Gorilla hail” is a term coined by Reed Timmer, a storm chaser who calls himself an extreme meteorologist, Sosnowski said.
In this case, the term might fit: Some hail from northern Kansas to northern Missouri could be the size of a baseball.
“When you get up to tennis ball, baseball size or god forbid softball size, it can do a tremendous amount of damage, and if you get hit in the head, it can be fatal,” Sosnowski told the Associated Press.
The storm damages at least 450 cars at a Ford dealership, shattering windshields and denting hoods with buildings and roads also affected by the onslaught
The county’s Emergency Operations Center did not escape unscathed, with passenger and county vehicles also suffering damage, Fox 2 reported
Massive chunks of hail pelted parts of Kansas and Missouri Wednesday night, bringing traffic to a standstill along Interstate 70 as storms sparked possible tornadoes
There were reports of 4-inch hail, nearly softball sized, in the town of Wabaunsee and 3-inch hail in Geary County near Junction City and Fort Riley
Massive chunks of hail pelted parts of Kansas and Missouri Wednesday night, bringing traffic to a standstill along Interstate 70 as storms sparked possible tornadoes and meteorologists urged residents to stay indoors
Traffic was stopped for a time on part of Interstate 70 because of the falling hail, the National Weather Service said at X. Images of large pieces of hail and at least one cracked windshield were shown on KSHB-TV.
Late Wednesday, forecasters issued tornado warnings for areas around Topeka and to the north, while severe thunderstorm warnings were issued northeast of Kansas City, Missouri.
‘If you are in this warning stay away from windows and shelter inside now!!!’ National Weather Service broadcast on X, formerly known as Twitter. The weather service said the storm had previously produced “softball-sized hail,” or 3.5-inch (8.9-centimeter) chunks.
The weather service also issued a severe thunderstorm watch for parts of Illinois, Iowa, Missouri and Kansas for Thursday morning, after which forecasters said the storm will move east.
While the hail threat recedes Thursday, meteorologists said heavy rain and strong winds were still possible from northeast Texas through central Missouri.
The biggest threat Friday is for heavy rain — perhaps up to 4 inches (10 centimeters) in some places — in a line from central Louisiana up through central Arkansas, Sosnowski said.
Other parts of the country also experienced severe weather.
A major blizzard hit Colorado starting Wednesday evening, closing several schools and government offices and shutting down parts of highways leading to the Denver area. That storm was not expected to subside until Friday.
Kansas City residents have been warned to shelter indoors as a dangerous storm with damaging winds unleashed baseball-sized hail in the area
The National Weather Service issued several warnings Wednesday evening to warn residents of the severe thunderstorms expected to sweep the region
Kansas City residents were warned to shelter indoors earlier this week as a dangerous storm with damaging winds unleashed baseball-sized hail in the area.
Heart-stopping videos emerging from across the Kansas City metro area capture softball-sized hail as the tornado touched down in northern Kansas.
The National Weather Service issued several warnings Wednesday night to warn residents of the severe thunderstorms expected to sweep the region.
Severe Thunderstorm Warning including Kansas City MO, Kansas City KS and Liberty MO until 9 p.m. CDT. This devastating storm will contain large hail the size of apples!’ the NWS Kansas City office wrote in a social media post.
Mayor Quinton Lucas shared a storm video shot in southern Alta Vista, Kansas, writing: ‘The storm is coming towards Kansas City and surrounding areas. Take good care of yourself!