Space shuttle Endeavour on the launch pad (Courtesy: NASA/Jim Grossmann)

NASA space shuttle Endeavour took a beating from Mother Nature Wednesday when severe thunderstorms ripped through the Kennedy Space Center with high winds and battering hail. More nasty thunderstorms were threatening the area Thursday morning.

As of 9 a.m. EDT Thursday, thunderstorms were stretched across the Florida Peninsula from the Tampa area to the Orlando area and Cape Canaveral.

“Thunderstorms Thursday morning will hit Cape Canaveral with high winds greater than 50 mph,” warned AccuWeather.com Senior Meteorologist Henry Margusity. “The high winds are a greater concern than hail today.”

AccuWeather.com Meteorologist Eric Reese has more details on today’s severe weather threat in this news story.

According to NASA, crews were planning on performing a full survey of Endeavour this morning after high winds and hail battered the launch pad Wednesday.

A press release from NASA stated, “No one was injured, and initially no obvious damage was observed. The storm moved through the area quickly.”

An 85-mph wind gust was reported from a 54-foot tower at the Kennedy Space Center late Wednesday afternoon, according to the Storm Prediction Center. A 64-mph wind gust was also reported.

Endeavour is scheduled to launch on April 19.

This image, courtesy of the Storm Prediction Center, shows severe thunderstorm reports from Wednesday, which consisted mostly of damaging winds. However, there were also two reports of tornadoes and several instances of hail larger than an inch in diameter.