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Heat Wave Expands to the East Coast; Flash Flooding Likely in the Central Plains into the Midwest; Severe Thunderstorms in the Northeast

Dangerous, prolonged heat is ongoing in the Mid-South to Mid-Mississippi Valley and heat expands into the Northeast for a brief period today. Widely scattered instances of flash flooding due to heavy rains are forecast from northeast Kansas to much of Indiana. Scattered strong to severe thunderstorms are possible across parts of New England, northern Mid-Atlantic, and North Dakota. Read More >

Overview

An upper level low ejected over the Central Plains Wednesday as a closed surface low rapidly intensified over the eastern parts of Colorado. The 971 mb low centered over southeastern Colorado and southwestern Kansas with impressive height rises on the back side and tight pressure gradients at all levels drove widespread strong winds to the surface across the Panhandles. Sustained winds of 40+ mph were verified across the Texas and Oklahoma Panhandles with the highest sustained wind of 67 mph measured by the West Texas Mesonet site 7 miles south southeast of Amarillo, Texas at 3:02 PM CDT. Winds gusts across the Panhandles reached 60+ mph with the highest wind gust of 84 mph measured by the West Texas Mesonet site 1 mile west northwest of Fritch, Texas at 12:28 PM CDT. The Amarillo International Airport received a peak sustained wind of 64 mph at 1:27 PM CDT and a peak gust of 80 mph at 1:20 PM CDT. Widespread wind damage was reported across the Texas and Oklahoma Panhandles including, but not limited to, multiple overturned semi trucks, uprooted trees, downed power lines, roofs blown off, building damage, and displaced objects such as trampolines. Multiple road closures and delays along with power outages occurred due to downed power lines and overturned semi trucks as very strong crosswinds caused travel difficulties for high profile vehicles.

 

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