Large chunks of hail
fell across parts of Kansas and Missouri on Wednesday night, paralyzing traffic along Interstate 70 and
unleashing a possible tornado,
as forecasters urged residents to stay home.
At least one unconfirmed tornado was reported in Alta Vista, Kansas, on Wednesday, according to media reports.
The National Weather Service said quarter-sized hail and wind gusts up to 60 mph were expected
across northern Kansas
overnight through 6 a.m. Thursday.
Large chunks of hail fell over parts of Kansas and Missouri.
Photo: AP
Descriptions of the hail ranged
from the size of golf balls and apples to softballs
and baseballs.
AccuWeather senior meteorologist Alex Sosnowski previously said the predicted hail was considered
"gorilla hail" because it had the potential to be very large.
"Gorilla hail"
is a term coined by Reed Timmer
, a storm chaser who calls himself an extreme meteorologist, Sosnowski said.
"Gorilla hail" is a term coined by Reed Timmer, a storm chaser.
Photo: AP
In this case, the term might fit: Some hail from north-central Kansas to north-central Missouri could be
as big as a baseball.
“When you get close to (hail) the size of a tennis ball, the size of a baseball or, God forbid, the size of a softball
, that can cause a tremendous amount of damage
, and if you get hit in the head,
it could be fatal
,” Sosnowski said.
Traffic was paralyzed for a time on a portion of Interstate 70 due to falling hail, the National Weather Service reported on X. Images of large pieces of hail and at least one broken windshield were shown on KSHB-TV.
On Wednesday night, forecasters
issued tornado warnings
in areas around Topeka and north, while severe thunderstorm warnings were issued northeast of Kansas City in Missouri.
“
If you are under this warning, stay away from windows and take shelter inside now!!!
” the National Weather Service posted on X, formerly known as Twitter.
The weather service said the storm had previously produced "baseball-sized hail," or 3.5-inch chunks.
A neighbor shows off hail balls larger than a golf ball.
Photo: AP
The weather service also issued a severe storm watch for parts of Illinois, Iowa, Missouri and Kansas through Thursday morning, after which forecasters said
the storm will move east.
While the threat of hail diminishes Thursday, forecasters said
heavy rain and strong winds
were still possible from northeast Texas to central Missouri.
The biggest threat on Friday
is heavy rain,
perhaps up to 4 inches (10 centimeters) in some places, along a line from central Louisiana to central Arkansas, Sosnowski said.
The author is a journalist for the Associated Press