Mother Nature is about to throw a temper tantrum our way, and some of us will have to deal with the repercussions of that heading into the weekend and the first half of next week. Now, before anyone comes here thinking it’s the end of the world and that twenty-mile-wide tornadoes are about to take out entire counties, let’s put the storm chances into perspective.
Each day’s storm chances will range from isolated to scattered, mostly across North Texas, Texoma, and Northeast Texas. On Saturday, we’ll expand that risk into parts of the Big Country and Concho Valley before shifting it back into the aforementioned three regions on Sunday and Monday.
Even with the risk of storms every day until early next week, most folks are not going to have to deal with tornadoes coming down their block, ice chunks trying to damage their roofs, or hurricane-force winds relocating trampolines into the next county. However, we do expect severe storm issues, and it would be wise to keep an eye on the sky. If you just read that paragraph, you’re already in better shape than most—because you’re weather aware!
Friday’s Storm Threat
Today’s thunderstorm chances will begin around 3 PM near a stalled boundary around the D/FW Metroplex, extending northeast toward Texarkana. The most intense storms may produce very large hail, localized damaging winds, heavy rain, and lightning. A tornado cannot be ruled out, but the risk is low. Storms will dissipate a few hours after sunset, leaving us fairly calm overnight through Saturday morning.
Scattered thunderstorms will begin developing earlier tomorrow, likely around noon, from the Concho Valley and Big Country northeast into North Texas, Texoma, and Northeast Texas. We are expecting more storms tomorrow than today, and there will also be a slightly higher threat of tornadoes and damaging wind gusts. Big-time hail is a decent bet, as is typical for most storms we experience in May.
Saturday’s Storm Threat
One blessing with Saturday’s storm setup is that it appears we may see many storms develop at once, leading to clusters of storms versus them remaining discrete, or isolated. It’s those discrete storms that can dominate an environment and start producing tornadoes left and right. While a multitude of storms tomorrow will still create havoc with hail, wind, and heavy rain, that clustering would at least keep the tornado threat on the lower side. Still, we’ll need to keep an eye on things. As with tonight, storms should start dying out a few hours after sunset as they move east/northeast.
Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday Bring More Storm Chances
At least isolated severe storms are expected again on Sunday afternoon and Monday afternoon, east of a dry line in Texoma and North Texas. If the dry line can remain a bit farther west, it would bring the threat of isolated severe storms into the Big Country and Northwest Texas. The most intense storms may produce very large hail, damaging winds, and perhaps even a tornado.
A cold front will push southeast into Texas on Tuesday, pushing storm chances into East Texas by the afternoon and evening, and hopefully bringing one last taste of less hot and humid weather to Texas before summer begins.
You can keep an eye on the sky with our Texas Weather Livestream and interactive weather radar here. Want our free mobile app? We’ve got that covered, too!