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Top Stories: Another Round Of Hail In North Texas; Gaming To Win College Money

National Weather Service

The top local stories this morning from KERA News: North Texans are cleaning up the mess left behind by last night’s hail storms. Residents reported broken windows and damaged roofs.

This was just the latest in a string of hail storms to hit the region this spring – and it’s increased from previous years. 

“From 2007 to 2015 through the end of April, we’ve averaged about 157 reports of large hail,” said National Weather Service meteorologist Mark Fox. “So far this year, we’ve have 188 reports of large hail.”

Fox says one reason for the uptick may be a short winter season.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kMveT5HqmMw&feature=youtu.be

Wylie was hit hardest by the hail. The city’s 911 system was overwhelmed with storm damage calls. Schools in Wylie are closed today to deal with the damage.

Other stories this morning:

  • Dallas’ largest homeless encampment, known as Tent City, will shut down by May 4th. Dallas police will arrest those who refuse to leave by that date. City officials told the Dallas Morning News the closure process will begin in a matter of days. Tent City’s been split into five sections and plan to shut down the first two next week.
  • We first reported last fall on a UT Dallas competition inspired by the popular game Minecraft. Students can win up to $5,000 in scholarship money by solving challenges. We checked in with some of the winners.

You can listen to North Texas stories weekdays at 8:22 a.m. and 6:20 p.m. on KERA 90.1 FM. 

Former KERA staffer Krystina Martinez was an assistant producer. She produced local content for Morning Edition and KERANews.org. She also produced The Friday Conversation, a weekly series of conversations with North Texas newsmakers. Krystina was also the backup newscaster for the Texas Standard.