26-05-2025
Grapefruit-sized hail, thunderstorms put a damper on Texas Memorial Day
OKLAHOMA CITY – Memorial Day weekend plans from the Plains to the Southeast were put in jeopardy on Sunday as a slow-moving storm system pummeled communities with massive hail, damaging wind gusts and even some reports of tornadoes.
Flooding was also an issue, as rounds of torrential rain overwhelmed storm drains, rivers and streams.
Hail larger than grapefruits fell in Texas on Sunday evening. Colt Forney with Atmospheric Chaos said the 5.5-inch and 6-inch giant hailstones fell in Afton.
Pictures show him comparing one of the hailstones to a baseball and another to a baseball hat.
There were numerous reports of large hail in the Afton area, ranging from 4 to 6 inches.
There was also a report of 3-inch hail in Goldsby, Oklahoma.
Tens of millions of people from Texas and Oklahoma through the Mississippi Valley and Southeast were at risk of severe thunderstorms on Sunday, and some of those areas were hit hard.
A video recorded in Arkansas shows the moment a bolt of lightning struck a radio tower in Fayetteville on Sunday.
Pictures show him comparing one of the hailstones to a baseball and another to a baseball hat.
X/@ColtForney
Winds were also whipping during the storms, with an 81-mph wind gust reported in Amherst, Texas. That's as strong as a Category 1 hurricane.
Some communities in Texas also reported tornadoes. According to NOAA's Storm Prediction Center (SPC), possible tornadoes were reported in Afton, Amherst, Stamford and Floyd.
An incredible video captured by a storm chaser and his son showed images of what appeared to be two tornadoes spinning across the landscape in the Stamford area on Sunday.
The area was under a Tornado Warning at the time the video was taken.
There were numerous reports of large hail in the Afton area, ranging from 4 to 6 inches.
X/@ColtForney
The heavy rain also led to reports of water rescues and flooding in Missouri.
A drone video recorded in Ozark, Missouri, shows neighborhoods surrounded by water after flooding due to the relentless precipitation.
Water can also be seen getting dangerously close to the bottom of a bridge while the flooding was ongoing.
Sunday's threat came after parts of the same regions were slammed with severe thunderstorms and flooding on Saturday, with damage to buildings reported in Oklahoma, water rescues in Missouri and storms tearing across communities in Florida.
