Severe Weather Triggers Heavy Hail, Flooding in Midwest, Colorado

Strong thunderstorms rumbled across areas of the Midwest and the Plains Wednesday evening, delaying travel and sparking at least three fires.

Near Denver, storms sent kids to safe rooms and temporarily halted activity at Denver International Airport Wednesday afternoon. Delays of about an hour and a half were reported, while some flights were diverted to Colorado Springs and Grand Junction.

At least one tornado was confirmed by spotters in the town of Watkins, southeast of the airport, but no damage or injuries were reported.

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Hail the size of ping pong balls sent pedestrians running for cover in Colorado Springs, and cars slid on the hail along Interstate 70 in Aurora. The hail piled up several inches deep, dented cars and broke windows out of some homes. Officials used snow plows to clear the hail from the main airport access road. Frontier Airlines says 13 of its flights were canceled due to its aircraft being damaged by hail.

Wednesday marked the second day in a row a hail storm hit the Denver metro area.

Thunderstorms packing hail and dangerous lightning also made their way across Illinois and Indiana on Wednesday. 

The day's most damaging hailstorm in the U.S. struck Tuscola, a city of 4,500 in east-central Illinois. Hail up to 4 inches in diameter punched out large holes in the windows of cars and buildings.

An Indianapolis Fire Department spokeswoman says lightning strikes were blamed for three fires, including a two-alarm blaze that caused an estimated $250,000 damage to 16 units at an apartment complex.

The National Weather Service reported hail measuring as large as 1 inch in diameter fell in Frankfort, Indianapolis and Jeffersonville.

The storm downed some tree branches and power lines. Indianapolis Power & Light Co. reported more than 6,000 customers without electricity at one point. Kentucky was also impacted by the storms, and as many as 17,200 customers were without power across the state Thursday morning.

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Localized flash flooding was also reported in Indianapolis and parts of Ohio. Rising waters in Ohio caused sections of I-70 and I-75 to be closed just north of Dayton Wednesday evening. Tipp City, Ohio, picked up 5.24 inches of rain in just three hours.

Information from the Associated Press was used in this report.