Severe storms and widespread rain are expected across the Plains and South throughout the workweek, with Texas in the bull’s-eye of the severe weather threat Tuesday and Wednesday.
“This is going to be a multiday event for some of you, not only in the Lone Star State but also across the southern Plains,” FOX Weather meteorologist Jason Frazer said.
The FOX Forecast Center said two days of severe storms are expected across parts of the Interstate 35 corridor in Texas before the threat shifts to the central Gulf Coast on Thursday.
On Tuesday, thunderstorms will try to develop along and south of a warm front. These storms could initially be in the form of supercells, which would pose a risk of damaging winds and hail.
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“We’re talking about hail in excess of 2 inches in diameter,” Frazer said. “That is golf ball(-sized) or bigger. And that is definitely going to lead to some damage.”
Depending on the evolution of the storms, a tornado threat may also develop Tuesday afternoon and evening.
On Wednesday, a cold front will swing through the same areas and spawn more severe weather, with the greatest risk expected to be damaging winds and hail.
The FOX Forecast Center said scattered severe storms could produce large hail and damaging wind gusts in cities such as Dallas-Fort Worth, Abilene and Waco.
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On Thursday, the severe weather threat shifts to the east as isolated severe storms will be possible across parts of the central Gulf Coast states.
Damaging wind gusts and hail will be likely across much of Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and the Florida Panhandle.
“Flooding is going to be a large concern for central Oklahoma,” FOX Weather meteorologist Britta Merwin said. “And we do have actually an increased threat than what we were forecasting about 24 hours ago for parts of central Oklahoma.”
NOAA’s Weather Prediction Center has signaled a 2 out of 4 threat level for flash flooding across the southern Plains and parts of the lower Mississippi Valley Tuesday and Wednesday.
“A lot of this in Oklahoma City is going to be the threat of street flooding,” Merwin said. “So as these thunderstorms and the showers continue to move through, just look out for that potential as we work our way through the next couple of days.”
The FOX Forecast Center said the heavy rain spreading across the Plains and South could lead to multiple days with a washout this week. As much as 2 to 3 inches of rain will likely fall over the next few days.
The good news is that the rain should help to ease the ongoing drought conditions in Texas, Oklahoma and Kansas.
However, it won’t be nearly enough to erase the drought, which has reached “extreme” and “exceptional” levels in portions of those states.
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