Thunderstorms will likely once again become severe Friday in the Texas Panhandle and West Texas.
If you have any patio furniture or trampolines for the kids in the backyard, you’ll want to make sure everything’s locked down as these storms roll their way through Friday. Aside from damaging wind gusts of 75 mph or greater, the threat of very large hail of 2 inches in diameter or larger is also on the docket as these storms bubble up into the afternoon. Tornadoes are also likely, the FOX Forecast Center said.
A Level 3 out of 5 enhanced risk of severe thunderstorms has been issued for the region, according to NOAA’s Storm Prediction Center. Texas cities in the enhanced risked area include Lubbock, Midland, Odessa, San Angelo and Big Spring.
“That ‘very likely’ bull’s eye we’re going to watch for very closely in West Texas, down through Lubbock, as well as into Fort Stockton,” FOX Weather meteorologist Jane Minar said.
Looking at the FOX Model, Minar said by 11 a.m. Friday, there’s not a lot of activity. It’s not until the afternoon hours when it gets going.
“It just erupts as we go through the middle part of the day,” Minar said. “The evening commute is going to be a real tough go of things.”
The line of storms will continue to push into Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, as we go through the overnight.
“Things will likely start to kind of lose their push as we go through the overnight hours, and the severity of those storms should begin to weaken,” Minar said. “But we could see still some small hail and gusty winds in the overnight hours for places like Oklahoma City and Central Texas.”
The storms are due to a blocking pattern that has kept the rain in the forecast every day this week from the Northern Rockies to Texas. It will continue through the weekend.
Included within this regime is the Central Plains, currently home to the worst drought conditions in the country. For them, this forecast could not be better as these storms will have the potential for very heavy, soaking rain.
Parts of the exceptional drought area in Kansas could see an additional 2 to 3 inches of rain over the next 7 days. Portions of the Texas Panhandle may see 3 to 5 inches of rain.