Storm reports for April 3, 2014

On the afternoon of April 3, 2014, softball-size hail up to 4.25 inches across fell in Denton, Texas, and the storm covered much of the city and a large part of Denton County. Other reports included 3.5-inch hail in Denton and baseball-size hail near Aubrey.^1,2,3,4 NOAA's Storm Events Database lists $500 million in property damage from the Denton hail and says about 22,000 homes and 35,000 vehicles were damaged.¹ Later, the Denton Municipal Airport measured an 82 mph gust, and the storm damaged several buildings in southern Denton.^2,5 That evening, an EF0 tornado damaged homes in a Princeton subdivision in Collin County, and an EF1 tornado with a broken path of nearly 12 miles in Hunt County injured four people.^6,7

Hail up to 2.5 inches, tennis ball size, damaged businesses, homes and vehicles near Checotah in McIntosh County, Oklahoma.⁸ Around 11 p.m. CST, winds estimated at 74 knots (85 mph) hit Ouachita County, Arkansas, where nine homes were destroyed, nine had major damage and 13 had minor damage. The database lists $2.5 million in property damage.⁹ Early on April 4, winds of 65 to 70 mph and golf ball size hail hit Orange Grove, Texas, where about 500 to 600 homes had minor to moderate damage, including broken windows and damaged shingles and siding.^10,11 Near Farrell in Coahoma County, Mississippi, winds destroyed a mobile home early on April 4, and the man thrown from it later died.¹²