Nick Natario was reporting live when hail started crashing down on rodeo goers who were trying to enjoy spring break at the carnival Friday afternoon.
The final Friday afternoon of the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo quickly turned from a fun family outing into a severe weather event. ABC13 meteorologists declared a Weather Alert Day for Friday, anticipating severe storms in the late afternoon.
Those storms materialized and moved toward the Houston area by about 4 p.m. Nick Natario was reporting live at NRG Park at 4:37 p.m. when the sky turned dark and roughly penny-sized hail started crashing down on rodeo goers, who ran for cover. The rain was so heavy at one point it nearly obscured anything from the view of our camera. That escalated quickly! Rodeogoers ran for cover Friday afternoon as storms over NRG Park dumped heavy rain and hail on Weather Alert Day. "It just came out of nowhere," Stephanie Saldana, who was caught in the storm, recalled. "We were just sitting down and it started pouring, but we did expect hail too. I lost my turkey leg and I lost my sausage. It just flew!" The deluge covered the carnival grounds, with standing water quickly becoming ankle-deep. Carnival rides have been shut down for now and will reopen when conditions improve, according to rodeo officials. Rodeo Houston officials have contingency plans for severe weather, they tell us. No announcements were made on the grounds, according to Eyewitness News teams on the scene. There are no reports of any injuries. At 5:16 p.m., RodeoHouston tweeted that the carnival is closed until the weather clears. The stadium gates are open and the rodeo will start on time at 6:45 p.m. As the storm passed, attendees to the rodeo seemed to be in a good spirits, with many sporting ponchos over their Western wear. This is the final weekend of the Rodeo Houston 2024 three-week run, capping off spring break week. The evening's entertainers are the Jonas Brothers.
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