WEATHER: (March 23, 2019) SATURDAY – High yesterday afternoon was 67̊ at 5:00; this morning’s low was 35̊ at 7:00. KPANcast: Sunny and pleasant.

LOCAL: Residents of Hereford are assessing and repairing damage today after an intense hailstorm hit town Friday evening. Hail damage across Hereford will likely reach into the millions of dollars with extensive damage to vehicles, roofs and skylights, and other property. The first episode lasted nearly half an hour around 7:00 with hail up to 2¾ inches in diameter observed by Hereford Fire Department at 7:07pm……..Enough dime- to quarter- to golf ball-sized hail fell from the severe thunderstorms to pile up two or three inches deep in the city, causing winter-like hazardous driving and street flooding. Numerous reports of 1½ to 2 inch hail were made in northwest Hereford……..The wicked weather produced a number of small tornados, including one near Vega about 6:00pm. At one point 11 Panhandle counties were under some type of weather warning at 7:30pm Friday…….Rainfall amounts, which included some melted hailstones, were 1.64 inches at Hereford MesoNet, 1.27 at HISD, 1.67 at the flour mill north of Dawn, 0.34 inch at Bootleg, 0.75 at Umbarger, 1.30 at Westway, 0.21 at Vega, 0.36 inch at Wildorado, 0.29 at Friona and 0.62 inch at KPAN………The final day of the 20^th annual Bowl for Kids’ Sake is underway today at Sugarland Mall, where some skylights were broken by the hailstorm. Seventy teams are bowling to raise funds for Big Brothers Big Sisters’ youth development and mentoring programs…….. Funeral mass for Jose Garcia, age 66, will be at 10:00 Monday at San Jose Catholic Church. He has lived in Hereford since 1958 and worked in the concrete business at Garcia Brothers Concrete Construction…….Funeral services for LaMonica Mariscal, age 47, will be at 10:00 Monday at Mendez and Mullins Funeral Chapel……..The Texas Red Raiders play the University of Buffalo in the 2^nd round of the NCAA basketball tournament at 5:10pm Sunday with live coverage on KPAN AM-FM. The Red Raiders defeated Northern Kentucky 72-57 in opening round play Friday in Tulsa.