Over 4,000 cars destroyed by hail storm in Nebraska, damage costs in the millions
Digital Reporter
Thursday, June 5, 2014, 9:49 AM - Severe storms have been taking a toll on parts of the U.S. Midwest this week.
Torrential rains, high winds and tornadoes were reported with some of the most severe weather firing up across Nebraska and Iowa Tuesday.
STORM HUNTERS LAST CHASE DAY: Flooding rain, hail and damaging winds tear through the U.S. Midwest
For Weather Network storm hunters Mark Robinson and Jaclyn Whittal, it was the final chase day for the team this season, and the powerful storms did not disappoint.
Some of the most intense damage was reported at a car dealership in Blair, Nebraska where baseball-sized hail destroyed over 4,000 vehicles on the lot.
@SkyNews In Blair Nebraska USA today @WoodhouseAuto, had 4500 vehicles damaged by hail. Est damage cost $152million pic.twitter.com/Vt6t6VAEvz
— Francis Jenkins (@RF_Jenkins) June 4, 2014
Hoods were dented and windshields shattered. The company estimates damages over $160 million.
"The insurance price tag in Nebraska and western Iowa will soar into the hundreds of millions of dollars," says weather.com. "Although a handful of tornadoes were reported, baseball-sized hail and flooding rains left the biggest mark. Communities including Blair, Fort Calhoun, Uehling and Craig, Nebraska, and in the western Iowa town of Missouri Valley were the hardest hit."
Over 20 people were taken to hospital due to injuries from the storms, but none were seriously injured, weather.com adds.