National Weather Service United States Department of Commerce

Severe Weather and Flash Flooding Threat in the Central U.S. This Weekend

Heavy rain and severe weather is forecast across the central and southern Plains this weekend. Large hail and strong winds will be the primary threats. A Slight Risk (level 2 of 5) for severe thunderstorms has been issued. Consecutive days of heavy rainfall may lead to flash flooding across Missouri and Oklahoma on Sunday. A Moderate Risk (Level 3 of 4) for excessive rainfall has been issued. Read More >

Overview

Wednesday morning a cold front came through the Texas Panhandle and stalled along a line from just south of Hereford up through Lefors, TX to the far northeastern corner of the Texas Panhandle. This cold front was associated with a low-pressure system in southeastern New Mexico that eventually moved into the Texas Panhandle from around the Clovis area. The front and low pressure system both played a role in providing lift for this event as daytime heating was hindered by cloud cover. Plenty of instability was present creating a concern for severe thunderstorms mainly in the central and eastern Texas and Oklahoma Panhandles. The first severe thunderstorm warning was issued around 1:10 PM in parts of Armstrong and Donley County. Storms continued to pop up across the area producing hail between 1-2 inches. The largest hail reported was 2 inches in Wheeler County near Twitty, TX at 3:11 PM. While another storm up near Glazier, Texas started dropping and lifting small rope tornadoes in the northeast Texas Panhandle between 3:30 PM and 4:30 PM, with several confirmed reports of tornadoes touching down. Later, different outflow boundaries started to collide and produce brief spin ups, such as a land spout tornado and several gustnados, east and southeast of Amarillo. Overall the office received 21 reports of hail at least 1 inch in diameter. Furthermore, a total of 4 tornadoes were confirmed to have touched down, one of which was a land spout seen from the Amarillo – Rick Husband International Airport tower. Many areas also reported accumulating hail, making it look like it had snowed, with one report in Randall County stating it had accumulated several inches deep.

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