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Powerful storm threatens more than 57 million across U.S.

A powerful spring storm is battering parts of the country's mid-section
Severe storm threatens over 50 million Americans 02:27

A violent spring storm is battering the U.S., stretching from the Central Plains to the Midwest and threatening more than 57 million people, reports CBS News correspondent Adriana Diaz.

In between strikes of lightning, it was impossible to miss the tornadic storms that barreled through northern Texas. At least one twister was reported near the Dallas Fort Worth area Wednesday night.

Millions face hazardous commute as storm hits Northeast 01:43

The powerful storm produced a torrential hail storm in Plano, where hail stones the size of golf balls battered thousands of homes.

"This fell in about one minute, never seen anything like it in my life," said one resident, Jim Mason.

Pounding rain and winds topping 45 miles per hour knocked out power to more than 5,000 people. The same system is dumping snow from the Rockies to the Great Lakes.

In Arkansas, severe weather damaged at least seven homes. No one was seriously injured.

The slick roads led to spin-outs and hundreds of cars and trucks faced white out conditions and traffic that had some drivers stuck for hours in Colorado, where some places saw more than 20 inches of snow Wednesday.

Denver's International Airport was forced to shut down for only the third time in its history, cancelling more than 1,300 flights. At one point, close to 300,000 people there also lost power.

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