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Storm Dumps Waist-High Hail In Texas Panhandle

This image from the Amarillo National Weather Service's Facebook Page shows Wednesday's deep hail-drift in northern Potter County.
This image from the Amarillo National Weather Service's Facebook Page shows Wednesday's deep hail-drift in northern Potter County.

Weather service crews are assessing the damage from a Texas Panhandle storm that dumped several feet of nickel-sized hail on an area north of Amarillo, stranded motorists in muddy, hail drifts and closed a highway for several hours.

National Weather Service Meteorologist Justyn Jackson said Thursday that hail that fell amid a rainstorm the day before was real small but "there was a lot of it" in a concentrated area, accumulating 2- to 4-feet deep.

Potter County Sheriff Brian Thomas says the water gushed across dry ranch land, washed dirt and mud into the hail and onto U.S. Highway 287.

There was so much hail-muck the sheriff said they had to "break out the snow plows in the middle of April" to clear a path.

There were no reported injuries.

AP