EL PASO, TEXAS (KFOX14/CBS4) — Thunderstorms swept across El Paso on Thursday evening, dumping heavy rain and hail across the city and leaving some residents dealing with flooding and power outages.
In Northwest El Paso, the fast-moving storm interrupted a group playing sand volleyball, sending them running for cover.
“I was here for a little bit for the rain and started hailing, so we had to go find some cover, but, other than that, it was a really nice day, and we’re out here enjoying ourselves,” Evan Ledesma said.
In East El Paso, rain poured down as hail bounced off the ground. The storm also knocked out power to parts of the city.
In far East El Paso near Rich Beem and Tierra Este, a metal structure could be seen against a utility pole, and a utility truck was seen responding in the area.
Jordan Salas reports on Strong storms bring hail, flooding and power outages to El Paso (Credit: KFOX14)
El Paso Electric said the outages in far East El Paso were associated with the strong thunderstorms.
On the West Side, water could be seen rushing through a drainage ditch. Nearby, water spread across a neighborhood street, with one person standing in the middle of the flooded road.
Back at the sand volleyball court, Ledesma said the hail was small but came down heavily.
“You know, it came down a lot, but it wasn’t as big. It was, like, really small. So, like, it wasn’t too bad, but it was… it was pretty crazy because I hadn’t seen hail in a while,” he said.
Ledesma and his friends took cover at a house around the corner, then returned to continue playing once the rain and hail stopped.
Others also returned outside after conditions cleared, including a large run club that gathered on the West Side after members drove in through the storm from different parts of El Paso.
“On our way over here. We did see a pretty severe thunderstorm. It was pretty pretty pretty neat to see because it’s been… it’s been pretty dry, but, everything turned up really neat. Really nice. Great weather. A little bit of hail, a little bit of rain throughout the streets and whatnot,” one runner said.
Despite concerns the weather could cancel their run, the group decided to head out on the trails once conditions improved.
“We made the call that everybody still wanted to come. So we’re going to have a great run now,” the runner said.
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