Tuesday, April 12, 2016

Softball-Sized Hail Pummels North Texas During Severe Weather; 1 Killed in Arkansas Storms

Sean Breslin
Published: April 12,2016
Massive hailstones fell on parts of Texas Monday night, shattering windows and damaging roofs as severe weather moved across the Southern Plains.
Social media was abuzz during the hailstorms Monday night as North Texas residents documented falling hail as big as softballs in some areas. The storms led to stunning video of windows shattered and blinds mangled as the gigantic hailstones crashed through homes and into living rooms and kitchens.
(MORE: Latest Forecast for This Multi-Day Severe Weather Threat)
The storms have also taken one life. A Mountainburg, Arkansas, woman was killed early Monday morning after losing control of her car during the wet conditions brought on by the severe weather system, according to Arkansas Online. Identified as Andrea D. Pense, authorities say the 22-year-old was driving south on U.S. 71 when she lost control of her car and crashed into a group of trees just after 5 a.m. Monday morning.
Here's what we know right now about the impacts from these storms so far.

Texas

Vertically-integrated liquid (VIL) loop from the National Weather Service-Ft. Worth Doppler radar and large hail reports (blue circles) in North Texas on April 11, 2016.


























As the large hail fell on North Texas Monday afternoon and evening, drivers caught in the storms, like Sara Correa, were left with few options to get away from danger. Traveling with husband Adrian and 8-month-old daughter Addison, who was in the back seat of her car, Correa endured several scary moments as hail blasted through the windows.
"The back window was just completely shattered through. It was the scariest thing I've ever been through," Sara Correa told WFAA.com.
Addison, who suffered minor injuries, was checked out at a local hospital as a precautionary measure after the damaging storm passed, the report added.
"She's getting pelted with hail and glass, and there's nothing you can do about it," Adrian Correa told WFAA.com.
All over the region, cars and homes suffered similar damage from the relentless hail. The National Weather Service reported large hailstones reaching the size of softballs in the Wylie area.
"If there was a Cat. 4 or 5 or EF4 or 5 equivalent for hail damage, the damage in Wylie, Texas, from yesterday's hailstorm would be it," said meteorologist Bryan Wood on Twitter.
Wylie Bear ‎@WylieBear1
@weatherchannel Hail in Wylie, TX. Many more houses like this.

Carinna Bell ‎@carinna_rose121
Hail next to a computer mouse in Wylie.

Along Rain Tree Drive in Wylie, some residents welcomed insurance adjusters into their neighborhood to survey damage from another recent hailstorm, according to NBC Dallas-Fort Worth. Now, they'll be repairing hail damage yet again, and there's a long way to go before severe weather season is over in North Texas.
Because of the damage left behind, Wylie ISD announced all schools would be closed Tuesday, WFAA.com also reported.
"We are still assessing damage to Wylie ISD facilities," district spokesman Ian Halperin told WFAA.com. "So far we are finding broken glass, some water damage, and evidence of damage to rooftop air conditioning units."

Arkansas

Officials believe lightning may have caused a large church fire in the town of El Dorado Monday afternoon. Images on social media showed the blaze burning out of control, with crews working to contain it.

(El Dorado Fire Department)
































The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette said no injuries were confirmed in the fire at Murmil Heights Baptist Church Monday afternoon. Residents were asked to avoid the area.
The inferno was one of several fires that were started in Union County Monday afternoon, all of which may have been started by lightning. Nearby, an oil-processing tank caught on fire, Union County Emergency Management Service Director Bobby Braswell told the Associated Press. That fire was extinguished soon after, the report added.
"It was a storage tank with a little bit of oil left in it," Braswell told the AP. "We don't know if it was a lightning strike or static from the line that caught it on fire."
A possible tornado hit the town of Garland on Monday, trapping four people in their homes for a short period of time on Monday, NBC News reported.
"We have some damage here in Miller County," Larry Pritchett, director of the county's Office of Emergency Management, told NBC News. "There were some people trapped in houses that trees have fallen into. It's mostly trees down that caused quite a bit of damage. Fortunately, no one was injured."
Storms also left damage and power outages on the campus of Southern Arkansas University in Magnolia, and the school announced all Monday afternoon and evening classes were canceled.

Oklahoma

As the storms raced across the Sooner State Monday afternoon, one supercell dumped massive hail in southeastern Oklahoma. Law enforcement officials in Atoka, Oklahoma, told the National Weather Service hail the size of baseballs was falling Monday afternoon in the town of about 3,000. There were no immediate reports of damage from the dangerously large hail.

Alabama

A man may have been struck by lightning Monday night in the Birmingham suburb of Hoover, ABC 33/40 News reports. The Hoover Fire Department transported a male from the scene in the 1000 Block of Highlands Drive.
Hoover Fire Lt. Rusty Lowe told WIAT.com the person who reported being struck was an elderly man. Lowe says the man was sitting on his back porch when lightning struck near the home. The man believes he was struck, but Lowe said he has no obvious signs of injury. He’s been taken to the hospital and will be fine.
Lowe said there was no damage to the structure.
MORE: Late-March Severe Storms in the South

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