Severe Thunderstorms in the Southern Plains; Heavy to Excessive Rainfall in South Central Texas

Widespread rain may produce flash flooding across the Southern Plains into the Ozarks today. Numerous instances of flash flooding are expected in south-central Texas, including the Hill Country. There will also be a risk of isolated severe thunderstorms across the southern Plains today, where an instance or two of severe wind, hail, or a brief tornado may occur. Read More >

Heavy Snow Event

March 6, 2008

On 6 March 2008, a convective precipitation band formed across North Texas and quickly transitioned from rain to snow in a 60 km wide zone extending from west of the Dallas / Fort Worth metroplex northeast into extreme North Texas near the Red River. The snow persisted for over three hours with accumulations averaging 7 cm and isolated reports up to 30 cm near the heaviest convective precipitation. Frontogenesis and the resulting ageostrophic circulation appeared to play key roles in not only providing significant forcing for ascent but also in modifying the vertical temperature profile to be supportive of a liquid-to-frozen precipitation transition. The presence of atmospheric instability led to isolated thunderstorm development, with occasional cloud-to-ground and in-cloud lightning observed in the band of heavy snow. This study reviews the complex interactions between moisture, instability, and forcing for ascent that occurred during this convective winter weather event.

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Severe Thunderstorms in the Southern Plains; Heavy to Excessive Rainfall in South Central Texas

March 6, 2008 Snow