A late winter storm dropped heavy snow in Colorado and also delivered what the press described as “Gorilla Hail,” in Oklahoma.
CNN reports that a powerful late winter storm dumped more than four feet of snow in just two days, March 13 and March 14 on parts of Colorado.
A potent storm is unleashing snarling snow, tornadoes, and massive hail in the central US Thursday for the second consecutive day,” CNN wrote. “Nearly 4 feet of snow fell from Wednesday to Thursday afternoon in the mountains west of Denver, and there were multiple reports of over half a foot of snow in the city.
“The snow prompted closure of more than 50 miles of I-70 in Colorado and many schools, businesses, and government offices in the state,” according to CNN. “More than 800 flights to or from Denver International Airport were canceled as of Thursday afternoon, according to FlightAware.
More than 100,000 Coloradans suffered power outages during the storm.
Farther south, in Oklahoma, the same storm system dropped massive, record-setting, hailstones, damaging cars and buildings, and shattering windows and windshields, reported Newsweek.
“A massive hailstone that fell during severe storms raging through Oklahoma on Thursday night broke a 74-year-old record in the state,” Newsweek wrote, describing the hail as “gorilla hail.”
“This 5.25 inch diameter hail stone fell in SE Ada OK on 3/14/24,” the National Weather Service (NWS) office in Norman, Oklahoma posted on X, formerly Twitter, on Friday. “It’s a new record for the largest stone reported in Pontotoc County since 1950 (old record was 3.25″ near Francis 3/26/2017). It’s also the largest in OK since 5/23/2011, when 6″ hail fell in Caddo County.”