Severe storms pounded parts of the central United States on Tuesday producing baseball-sized hail, unconfirmed reports of several tornado touchdowns and a line of intense, dangerous winds known as a derecho, weather forecasters said, according to The Associated Press.
Strong winds and baseball-sized hail caused widespread damage north of Omaha, Nebraska, Washington County officials said, the AP reported.
The severe weather halted flights at Omaha's Eppley Airfield for hours, which reported hail and strong wind gusts, and heavy rain caused flash flooding that closed area streets, according to the AP.
Storm chasers reported at least eight unconfirmed tornado touch-downs in Nebraska, one in Iowa and another in Wyoming, the National Weather Service said, the AP reported.
Hail, ranging from golf ball to tennis ball size, also pelted parts of Wyoming, the northern half of Nebraska and the southwestern corners of South Dakota and Iowa, the National Weather Service said, according to the AP.
Winds reported at up to 90 mph tore roofs off two motels in Missouri Valley, Iowa, the AP reported.
A derecho, a long-lived, wide line of thunderstorms that produces damaging winds, threatened the region on Tuesday night and is expected to move east into Wednesday morning, said AccuWeather.com senior meteorologist Alex Sosnowski, according to the AP.
"These storms can knock down trees, cause power outages and travel mayhem for the Wednesday morning commute," Sosnowski said, the AP reported.
National Storm Prediction Center forecaster Bill Bunting in Norman, Oklahoma, said the strongest storms on Tuesday could produce tornadoes, with the possibility of a tornado rated EF-2 or higher and winds peaking at 135 mph or more, according to the AP.
A tornado watch was in effect on Tuesday night for much of Nebraska, southwest Iowa and northwest Missouri, and central Iowa was under a flash flood warning, the weather service said, the AP reported.
On Wednesday, the storms were expected to move into eastern Missouri, central Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, southern Ohio, parts of Tennessee and West Virginia, forecasters said, according to the AP.
