The town of Marathon, Texas experienced a dramatic 50 degree temperature drop and several feet of accumulating hail within an hour due to a severe storm.
Temperatures plunged from around 105 to the mid-50s, resembling winter conditions and requiring snow plows to clear two feet of hail from roads. Such extreme temperature swings are common in Texas storms.
“It was like an air conditioner,” meteorologist Brian Curran said.
This week’s severe weather led to 25 reported tornadoes across 5 states over Memorial Day weekend, with at least 20 deaths total.
Texas was particularly impacted, with over 200 homes destroyed northwest of Dallas.
“There was about two feet of hail on our main street right in the center of town. It looked like snow,” Marathon Fire Department chief Brad Wilson said. “We went out there with a tape measure last night before the road crews came and plowed the roads.”
“It was interesting,” Wilson said.
Over 600,000 electric customers lost power. Forecasts call for continued severe storms with large hail, strong winds and tornado risk across Texas and surrounding areas through Friday.
Flash flooding concerns also exist from North Texas to New Orleans.
