Severe thunderstorms, large hail strike parts of Central U.S.

ByJulie Celestial
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Image credit: @Arnone5/Twitter

Severe thunderstorms, with hailstones up to 5 cm (2 inches) in diameter, hit parts of central U.S., including Illinois, Arkansas, Kentucky, and nearby areas since Wednesday, March 11, 2020. The storms resulted in power outages for about 3 000 customers, particularly in Garland County and Hot Springs.

In Kentucky, hailstones were described as the size of a quarter, or about 2.5 cm (1 inch), covering highways. AccuWeather journalist and storm chaser Blake Naftel said the storm lasted for seven minutes.

In Arkansas, a heavy hailstorm battered the northwestern region, including Sonora on March 11. Hailstones were reportedly up to 2.5 cm (1 inch) in diameter, with wind gusts reaching 97 km/h (60 mph).

Among the worst-hit areas was Bella Vista, where lightning and hail struck together. Bismarck, Izard County, Batesville, and Horseshoe Bend also had reports of hail.

Almost 3 000 customers were left without electricity Thursday in Garland County and Hot Springs, according to Entergy. 

In Illinois, intense thunderstorms and huge hails rocked areas including South Jacksonville. 

According to Weather Nation, up to 5 cm (2 inches) of hail fell in Johnson city, while West Frankfort, Du Quoin, Ina, and Marion saw between 1.25 to 1.75 cm (0.5 to 0.7 inches) of hail.

"Please watch out for flooded roads overnight and avoid them," the weather agency warned.

Rain is expected to continue into the weekend.

Heavy snow and flash flood threats continue across the western U.S. – severe thunderstorms possible across West Texas and Eastern New Mexico

Storm systems across the western U.S. will continue to bring heavy rainfall to portions of the Desert Southwest on Friday, March 13, 2020, with heavy snows continuing across many mountainous areas through the weekend.

Heavy snow is also possible across the Central Plains into Saturday, with a few severe thunderstorms possible across West Texas and Eastern New Mexico, NWS forecaster Tate noted.

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