Texas, Oklahoma Hit by Hail as Large as Softballs; Widespread Damage Reported

Pam Wright
Published: March 27,2017
A round of severe storms brought high winds and dropped hail the size of softballs on parts of Texas and Oklahoma Sunday, causing widespread damage.
The National Weather Service said hail up to the size of softballs was reported in the areas of Denton County and Justin in north Texas, while an unconfirmed tornado was spotted southwest of Justin. Officials with the NWS may survey the site in the coming days to assess the damage and confirm whether a tornado or straight-line winds caused the damage.
Several homes and businesses in the Denton area were damaged by the large hail, reports the Dallas Morning News, along with numerous vehicles.
Armando Canas told NBC DFW his truck was hit by hail as he drove along Interstate 35 near Denton.
"It was really bad, baseball-sized hail. Everyone had to duck under the bridge, couldn't go anywhere or do anything," he said.
On Monday, officials with the Little Elm Independent School District southeast of Denton announced that "all but 13 of the Little Elm ISD school buses were damaged and most are out of commission due to hail damage," NBC DFW also reported.
(MORE: Latest on Tropical Cyclone Debbie)
In Ada, Oklahoma, video from KWTV showed a funnel cloud near the town located about 70 miles southeast of Oklahoma City.
The severe storms came just two days after an EF2 tornado ripped through Cato, Arkansas, destroying four mobile homes and injuring at least six Friday.
An active jet stream pattern will lead to multiple waves of severe thunderstorms this week and potentially into next weekend, said weather.com meteorologist Chris Dolce. The severe weather will mainly take aim at the southern tier of states, with damaging winds, large hail and tornadoes all possible at times.
MORE: Midwest Tornado Outbreak, Feb. 28-March 1

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