Bolivar among hardest hit areas from Thursday’s tornado-warned storms

BOLIVAR, Mo. (KY3) - Severe storms blasted through the heart of Polk County on Thursday.

Several neighborhoods in Bolivar noticed hail, flooding and heavy winds for several hours Thursday afternoon. Much of Polk County was also under a tornado warning from 5-6:30 p.m., a time period during which much of the hail and flooding occurred.

No significant injuries have been reported as of Friday morning, but property damage is abundant.

KY3 spoke to several neighbors who acted quickly during severe weather. Many say the storms led to bizarre sounds they had never really heard before. Around 5 p.m., hail came pouring down onto their homes. Many residents, like Caitlyn Jensen, say they wanted to quickly take cover.

“It just started pattering, and then all the sudden it just started, the wind started blowing really really hard and hail just started hitting the windows,” said Jensen. “I honestly thought that the windows were going to break. First instinct was to just take cover and get away from the windows and stay low, because the last thing I need is being hit by hail.”

Many Bolivar-area residents shared comments about various damages and impacts from the storms on a Facebook post from the Bolivar Office of Emergency Management.

After the storms passed, neighbors were pretty stunned to see just how much damage the system caused. Hail filled several pitches right after the storm. Heavy rain also flooded driveways, and even got into a few garages.

Neighbors began trying to pick up paneling and other debris, while others are trying to sweep water away. A few cars also got pelted with mirrors broken off or shattered.

“I’m not going to lie, it was quite scary,” said Jensen. “And seeing the wind and the hail, it was just, ‘Wow.’”

Bolivar officials tell KY3 insurance will cover the costs of storm damages.

As of 11 a.m. Friday, the National Weather Service has yet to confirm a tornado from Thursday’s storms. We will update if new information on the storms becomes available.

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