Man struck by lightning, 3 injured as tornado, severe storms hit the South

A man was struck by lightning and at least three others, including a child, were also injured after severe thunderstorms swept through parts of Texas and Florida Wednesday evening into Thursday, spawning tornadoes, including one large and destructive one in the Florida Panhandle, and pelting regions with grapefruit-sized hail as winds gusted up to 85 mph.

Shortly before noon Thursday, a 33-year-old man was struck by lightning at the City Pier at Panama City Beach, Florida, as a severe thunderstorm with a tornado warning swept through Panama City on the Gulf coast just west of Tallahassee, according to police. The man, from Naperville, Illinois, was seriously injured from the strike. A bystander administered CPR before paramedics arrived and transported him to the hospital, police said. Spotters reported a funnel cloud and 1.5-inch-diameter hail in the area.

In Brevard County, Florida, which is located on Florida's Atlantic Coast east of Orlando, an adult and a child were injured from Wednesday's strong storms when a recreational vehicle with four people inside flipped over, according to Don Walker, a spokesperson for Brevard County Fire Rescue. The child was transported to a hospital in Orlando; the injured adult was taken to a trauma center and is in stable condition, according to Walker. The NWS confirmed winds of 60 mph at the time of the incident, Walker told AccuWeather.

Wind gusts recorded on Wednesday, April 26, 2023, across Florida and Texas.

Powerful winds were also to blame for one injury in Cherokee County, Texas, located southeast of Dallas, according to authorities. That incident report came in shortly after 4:30 p.m. CDT. No additional information was available.

Top wind gusts of 85 mph were reported at Sewall's Point, Florida, about 34 miles north of West Palm Beach, and gusts of 76 mph at Buna, Texas.

About 85 miles south of Dallas, two small, brief tornadoes were reported about 10 miles west of Waco, Texas, at 5 p.m. and 5:30 p.m. CDT during a tornado-warned storm, with wind gusts up to 63 mph and giant hailstones.

A total of 130 hail reports were filed by National Weather Service (NWS) spotters in two states in the 24 hours ending at 1 p.m. CDT Thursday. Extreme hail, 4.5 inches in diameter, was reported near Waco, Texas, at Bellmead, while hail measuring 2.5 inches in diameter was reported near Anthony, Florida.

Photos and videos shared on social media Wednesday showed large hailstones pelting down from the sky in several central Texas counties.

Large hail falling in Dublin, Texas, on Wednesday, April 26, 2023. (Twitter/Gary Clayton)

Gary Clayton, of Dublin, Texas, which is roughly 106 miles southwest of Dallas, shared a video of the hail splashing down in his pool as one of his cows in the background runs for shelter on Wednesday. Clayton confirmed on Twitter that the cow was not injured from the hailstorm and is doing "fine."

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In Rusk County, near the Texas-Louisiana state line, the county's Office of Emergency Management reported over 100 vehicles sustained damage from Wednesday's hailstorm.

"It just came down; you couldn't even hear yourself talk," Texas resident Susan Bass told CBS19. "I see that I have holes in my back windshield, my mirror is messed up and I have dents in my car."

A ground stop was issued at Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport Wednesday morning and lifted by 3 p.m. due to the severe storms.

Rainfall totals over a 36-hour period ranging from Tuesday afternoon to early Thursday morning.

Heavy rain drenched areas in Texas on Wednesday. Blooming Grove, Texas, which is located about 48 miles south of Dallas, recorded 6.29 inches of rain during a 36-hour period from Tuesday afternoon through early Thursday morning.

Located roughly 71 miles east of Dallas, Ben Wheeler, Texas, reported 5.15 inches of rain.

A separate string of storms also brought damaging hail, gusty winds and heavy rain to other areas of Florida on Wednesday. Several homes within a mobile home park in Melbourne, Florida, located in the southern section of Brevard County, were riddled with holes from heavy hail pouring down on the area on Wednesday afternoon.

According to local storm reports from the SPC, emergency management officials reported "extensive damage" within the mobile home community. Many structures lost roofs, and a carport shed was destroyed.

A report of 2-inch hail, slightly larger than a golf ball, was recorded in Melbourne.

The roof on Baer's Furniture in West Melbourne partially collapsed, which potentially could have been the result of the hail and strong winds, Florida Today reported.

As the hail rained down across eastern Florida, it quickly piled up. Photos and videos shared on social media showed several lawns and backyards covered in hail and debris. At West Melbourne Central Middle School, the outdoor seating area was blanketed with hail.

As the line of storms advanced across the South, severe weather continued across parts of the Gulf Coast on Thursday.

A tornado-warned supercell was spotted over Stone County, Mississippi, early Thursday morning. The storm was producing large hail and strong winds as it moved across southeastern Mississippi. Radar images showed a textbook hook echo, indicating a possible tornado at the time, according to AccuWeather meteorologists.

A strong thunderstorm/tornado-warned storm moving across parts of Mississippi on Thursday morning. (AccuWeather Radar)

A video shared on Twitter showed large hail falling from an early morning storm in Wade, Mississippi, which is located near the Mississippi-Alabama state line.

On Thursday afternoon, just after 4 p.m. EDT, a large and "extremely dangerous" tornado was confirmed south of Greensboro, Florida, as the severe weather trekked through the state. The NWS Storm Prediction Center listed seven preliminary tornado reports from Thursday's severe weather, all but one of which were in Florida.

The worst tornado damage was in the community of Hosford, which is roughly 33 miles west of Tallahassee. According to officials, at least a dozen homes were destroyed by the twister while other homes sustained severe damage, ClickOrlando reported. All residents were accounted for, and no injuries were reported.

AccuWeather meteorologists say people living along the Gulf Coast and in east-central Florida should be weather aware as multiple rounds of severe weather are expected to persist into the weekend.

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