Hailstorm hits Culver track meet; athletes get welts

Strong thunderstorms rumbled through Central Oregon on Tuesday afternoon, with one dropping golf ball-sized hail on a Culver Middle School track meet, leaving welts on competitors and canceling the event.

Audrey Clare told NewsChannel 21 the winds and hail came up suddenly, “and mats went flying. Track meet canceled all of a sudden. Kids falling all over, crying, looking for their parents.”

National Weather Service storm spotters reported dime- to nickel-sized hail northwest of Terrebonne and half-inch-sized hail just northeast of Madras. Hail also piled up on the ground at Crooked River Ranch, where a resident reported a 58 mph wind gust.

Traffic stopped on Highway 97 on the south side of Madras for a time due to the hail and torrential rainfall, causing visibility less than a quarter-mile and winds gusting to 40 mph. A Metolius resident reported marble-sized hail, along with thunder, lightning and hard wind.

NewsChannel 21’s Emily Kirk said lighting peppered much of the area and thunderstorms were moving northeast, extending into the evening.

Check the latest conditions and Emily’s forecast on our weather page.