A lot of energy in the atmosphere made for a surprising batch of severe weather through the Ark-La-Tex Friday night. Reports of tornados and hail --quarter size to golf ball size-- came from authorities from northwest Louisiana parishes like Webster and Claiborne to counties in southwest Arkansas like Columbia.
KTBS 3 News talked to Chrystal Manuel, a worker at the Dixie Mart in Athens, Louisiana, where about 20 people took shelter from the severe storm.
"At first it was just lightening. Then it got kind of still. Before we knew it, it was like big softball size hail falling. You could just hear it, our roof, outside, everywhere, you could just hear it. And you look outside, it's almost like we had a big snowballs just going everywhere," said Manuel.
She said they were very scared, but the storm passed and she's surprised not to see much damage there by store in Athens.
We also spoke with Homer resident, Gordon Simmons Friday. He lives about seven and a half miles south of Homer.
"We experienced high winds and I just came in the house and it's been 30 minutes or so when it came through and picked up a piece of hail that was still larger than a golf ball," said Simmons.
Simmons says everything is calm in Homer right now.
There were no reports of injuries.
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