(April 17, 2009)--Two tornadoes touched down near Lake Thomas near the bottom of the Panhandle generating rain, but no reports of damage nor injuries in the aftermath of strong storms that pummeled portions of Texas.

Sheriff Billy Gannaway, with the Borden County Sheriff's Office, said the tornadoes hit around 10:30 Thursday night.

He said they had had hail ranging from "penny to golf ball-sized since about 4:30 p.m." but all was quiet early Friday morning.

Portions of Texas were attacked by waves of storms that closed stretches of Interstate 27 in the Panhandle because of high water and downed power lines in Howard County.

Firefighters in Tulia Thursday had to rescue some people from their stranded cars. There were no immediate reports of injuries.

Crews had to pull out the snowplows and road graders after hail pounded portions of the Texas Panhandle, blocking culverts and creating an impromptu pond on Interstate 27.

Tulia police dispatcher Kenneth Patton called the experience akin to being in North Dakota.

The Texas Department of Public Safety said the northbound lanes of I-27 from Plainview to Canyon, a distance of about 50 miles, were temporarily closed because of high water, as was a portion of U.S. Highway 87 south of Lubbock.