Hail as large as golf balls fell in parts of Kansas Saturday as storms with high winds and the potential to spawn tornadoes lashed the Great Plains, and more severe storms are forecast Sunday as the system moves east.
Thousands of fans attending a two-day country music concert in Texas were forced under cover at Globe Life Park in Arlington, and gusts of 65 mph prompted Dallas/Fort Worth International to institute a "ground stop" Saturday that led to flight delays, the Federal Aviation Administration said.
There were tornado watches for parts of Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, Nebraska and Colorado. Hail ranging from 1.25 inches across in Stafford, Kansas, to 2.5 inches across in Baylor County, Texas, was reported. More than 64,000 people were left without power in the Dallas area, and 10,000 were without power in the Houston area, utility companies said.
In South Texas, funnel clouds were reported near Victoria and Beeville and authorities said a tornado briefly touched down in a rural area of Matagorda County about 100 miles southwest of Houston.
Karnes County Sheriff Dwayne Villanueva blamed lightning for an explosion Friday at an oil tank in Karnes City, south of San Antonio, sending flames more than 100 feet into the air.
As the storm moves east over the South on Sunday, hail is thought to be the biggest threat, and an area stretching from northern Louisiana and Arkansas to southern Illinois and Alabama could experience severe thunderstorms, forecasters for The Weather Channel reported.
There's a greater chance of a tornado Sunday, especially in Arkansas, southern Missouri, western Tennessee and northwest Mississippi, forecasters said. On Monday, the storms will bring the threat of high winds to the East Coast. from Jacksonville, Florida, to Philadelphia.
IN-DEPTH
SOCIAL
— Phil Helsel
The Associated Press contributed to this report.