Tornadoes and softball-sized hail possible with severe thunderstorms in Kansas, NWS says

Tornadoes and hail stones the size of softballs are possible as severe thunderstorms move through central Kansas Sunday afternoon and evening.

The National Weather Service office in Wichita issued a severe thunderstorm watch for most of central and western Kansas. The watch was issued at around 2 p.m. and is valid until 10 p.m. The top threats in the region from the storms include possible tornadoes, widespread hail up to the size of softballs and widespread wind gusts up to 80 mph.

Those wind speeds are roughly as strong as the weakest tornadoes on the Enhanced Fujita Scale.

In Wichita, the NWS forecast calls for a 90% chance for precipitation Sunday night. Heavy rainfall is possible.

The city of Wichita and Sedgwick County are on the edge of the watch area. Other counties are: Barber, Barton, Clark, Comanche, Edwards, Ellis, Ellsworth, Finney, Ford, Gove, Graham, Grant, Gray, Harper, Harvey, Haskell, Hodgeman, Jewell, Kearny, Kingman, Kiowa, Lane, Lincoln, Marion, McPherson, Meade, Mitchell, Ness, Norton, Osborne, Pawnee, Phillips, Pratt, Reno, Rice, Rooks, Rush, Russell, Saline, Scott, Seward, Sheridan, Smith, Stafford, Stevens, Sumner, Trego and Wichita.

This story was originally published June 21, 2020 at 2:21 PM.