Twisters, baseball-sized hail hammer the Plains, and more severe weather looms
Extreme Meteorologist Reed Timmer intercepted a "big-time tornado" on Wednesday amid a surge of severe weather that spawned hailstorms and damaging winds in the central United States.
These scenes show the view on the ground across Kansas on the evening of March 13 as a tornado ripped across the landscape and thunderstorms pelted homes with hail.
"Big time tornado, we just intercepted it," Extreme Meteorologist Reed Rimmer exclaimed as he pursued one of many severe thunderstorms that erupted over the central United States late Wednesday into Wednesday night.
The twister touched down near Alta Vista, Kansas, located about 100 miles west of Kansas City, and was one of the only reported tornadoes during Wednesday's severe weather.
A tornado that touched down near Alta Vista, Kansas, on March 14, 2024. (AccuWeather)
Hail was the primary danger with the storms, with NOAA's Storm Prediction Center receiving more than 150 reports of hail. Chunks of ice as large as baseballs and grapefruits pelted parts of Kansas, Missouri and Oklahoma. Golf ball-sized hail was also measured in Illinois.
One of Wednesday's severe storms tracked over Kansas City, hammering the metro area with reports of hail 1 to 1.75 inches in diameter.
The threat for severe weather continued into Thursday night from Illinois, Indiana and Ohio to Texas. These thunderstorms brought a wide swath of damaging wind gusts, hail and tornadoes across this region.
A tornado was reported to have moved through Winchester, Indiana, Thursday evening, where a nursing home as well as multiple businesses sustained damage, and numerous injuries were reported. The Randolph County Sheriff’s Office closed portions of State Route 32 and U.S. Route 27 in the county Thursday night, restricting travel to emergency management workers.
Additional reports of a tornado came through Thursday night in Lakeview, Ohio, where damage occurred to multiple buildings, including a mobile home development, resulting in injuries.
According to the Storm Prediction Center, additional reports of tornadoes occurred across Indiana and Ohio, as well as in northern Texas.
More severe thunderstorms will be possible from Texas to North Carolina on Friday as the same system responsible for Wednesday and Thursday's twisters and hailstorms advances eastward.
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