BEATRICE - Hail the size of a baseball, extreme wind, and torrential rains have left residents of southeast Nebraska picking up these pieces. Here in Beatrice, hail damaged vehicles, downed tree limbs, and busy roofing businesses were the story on Sunday.

In the early evening on Saturday, warnings from the National Weather Service began to file in and the weather began to ramp up. Ashlynn Guzman was in town to watch it all unfold.

“It was really windy, kind of dark, raining and then just hail… Out of nowhere,” Guzman said. “Then it just continuously got bigger.”

All of Gage County, and others in the area, were under a long tornado warning and just before 5:30, law enforcement confirmed a tornado near Wymore, about a dozen miles south of Beatrice. At the time of the storm, Guzman’s vehicle was parked outdoors in an apartment complex in east Beatrice. It suffered permanent damage.

“It hurt my heart a little bit… I just got it about six months ago,” Guzman said. “It is totaled, but I will get a new car.”

Guzaman’s vehicle suffered massive windshield cracks, dents to the hood and roof, a broken mirror, and even a busted rear window. One man told News Channel Nebraska he was DoorDashing during the storm when hail broke his windshield. He said he believed golf balls sized hail was average. Rachyl Nimitch was away from town when the storm hit and came home to the heavy damage. Sunday, she and her family were cleaning up.

“There were huge branches all over, we’re just now picking up all the leaves,” Nimitch said. “We have had roofing estimators at our house… It’s horrible.”

Those roofing estimators were kept busy on Sunday, including Dion Hancock, the owner of Roof Guard in Sterling.

“These roofs are pretty beat up… It’s obvious this was some big hail,” Hancock said. “A lot of your gutters and soft metals are damaged.”

Hancock said Roof Guard spent their day on roofs, making estimates, and performing quick repairs to limit further damage.