Several severe thunderstorms rolled through Colorado and Kansas Thursday afternoon, August 10, 2017. The storms produced strong winds and very large hail, leaving a trail of damage. The worst affected were Kansas’ WaKeeney and Trego counties.

Hail as large as grapefruit was reported in Trego County while baseball- and softball-sized stones hit WaKeeney. 90% of the vehicles in a parking lot in WaKeeney were damaged by the hail, and nearby homes had window and siding damage, NWS reported.

“It was kind of armageddon out there for a while,” state trooper Tod Hileman said from north-central Kansas. Vehicles and houses had windows knocked out by large hail, thick fog dropped visibility to zero for a while and numerous crashes were reported on hail-covered roads, he said, as reported by The Wichita Eagle.

What appeared to be a tornado, south of I-70, downed trees and power lines across several county roads, leaving entire WaKeeney without electricity, Hileman said.

Trego County Emergency Management Director Kathleen Fabrizius said softball-sized hail hit the county and lasted for about 10 minutes. The storm overturned vehicles, downed power lines and caused accidents across the county, she said, adding that windows at the courthouse, a nursing home and the WaKeeney Family Care Center were blown out. The hospital was closed and patients were routed to the emergency room during the storm.

Video courtesy SVLMedia LLC

Along with large hail, the storms brought wind gusts in excess of 112 km/h (70 mph).

Featured image: Hail damage in WaKeeney, Kansas on August 10, 2017. Credit: SVLMedia LLC