Hailstorm kills flamingos, other birds at Fort Worth Zoo

Severe thunderstorms pounded Tarrant County with hail Thursday morning, covering roadways in west Fort Worth and south Arlington, busting out windshields and killing some exotic birds at the Fort Worth Zoo.

The hailstones varied in size from blueberries to tennis balls.

On what is historically their busiest week of the year, the Fort Worth Zoo delayed opening until 11:45 a.m. Thursday because of the damage caused by the hail.

“We got hit hard,” said Alexis Wilson, a zoo spokeswoman. “Worst of all, we actually lost some animals in our bird collection.”

Late Thursday morning, Wilson said the final death count was five flamingos, a pelican and two smaller birds _ an Ibis and a baby Black-neck Swan Cygnet. No ducks died as orinigally thought, she said.

She said others birds were being treated in the zoo's hospital.

Wilson said golf-ball or larger sized hail pummeled the zoo around 6:30 a.m., damaging skylights, exhibit roofs and vehicles.

Wilson cautioned parking would be tricky as the auxilarly areas used for zoo parking were still underwater.

At MedStar headquarters in west Fort Worth, golf- to tennis ball-size hail caused extensive damage to almost 50 vehicles and 11 ambulances were taken out of service because of busted windshields.

“We've contacted at three windshield companies trying to get the ambulances repaired,” said Matt Zavadsky, MedStar spokesman. “We hope the ambulances are our just for a day.”

Police stations in west Fort Worth and Arlington also sustained damage.

Fort Worth firefighters rescued a woman from her car on Hulen Street, near I-30, where waters rose to waist high about 7 a.m., spokesman Kyle Clay said. Hail had clogged up the street’s storm drains.

Egg-sized hail was measured in Benbrook and tennis-ball sized hail later fell in south Arlington, according to the National Weather Service in Fort Worth.

The first round of hail hit parts of west Fort Worth and Benbrook starting at about 4 a.m. and another round moved through between 6:30 and 7 a.m. before continuing eastward into south Arlington and eventually Dallas.

The hail came as commuters were on their way to work, forcing some drivers to line up under overpasses. In west Fort Worth, some drivers got stuck in hail when they pulled over to the shoulders.

In Arlington, three police cars had windshields busted. Vehicles in Fort Worth also had major damage.

The severe storm threat will stick around through the morning but should weaken as the day goes on.

“The main threat will be strong winds and hail,” said National Weather Service meteorologist Juan Hernandez.

Earlier, Parker County was under a tornado warning but no twisters were reported.

“The tornado threat seems to have subsided for now,” Hernandez said.

The National Weather Service said the storms could still produce hail large enough to cause damage to cars.

The first hailstorm that struck the western half of Fort Worth and parts of Parker County and lasted for about 15 minutes. Golfball-sized hail was commonplace. The National Weather Service said hail as large as two inches in diameter was reported at the Benbrook traffic circle.

“That’s hen-egg-sized hail, which is definitely large enough to cause damage,” Hernandez said.

Many of these same southwest Fort Worth and Benbrook neighborhoods had roofs replaced by hail and wind damage from last year’s spring storms.

As the ice melted before dawn, it left an eerie fog on many residential streets.

The chance of storms will stick around for awhile. There’s a 40 percent chance tonight and a 50 percent chance Friday and Friday night.

Arlington police reported hail damage to three vehicles at their substation near Lake Arlington.

Here are some other hail photos from across the area:

This story was originally published March 17, 2016 at 1:49 PM with the headline "Hailstorm kills flamingos, other birds at Fort Worth Zoo."