North Texas in bullseye Severe storms to linger, increase flooding risk too

After a horrific night across much of Iowa and Wisconsin, the severe storm risk now shifts south. Over 10 million people, mainly across Texas, including the Metroplex area are at risk of experiencing several tornadoes, large hail, and damaging winds of at least 80 mph. Let’s dive into the forecast.

The northern portion of the Metroplex, north of I-20 from Gainesville to Paris, can expect the first rounds of thunderstorms to arrive late morning into the early afternoon. Severe storms will likely move over the I-20 corridor around 2 p.m., and migrate slowly southward and dominate I-35 through Waco until around midnight. In the evening there could still be a few strong to severe storms east of Dallas from Paris to Palestine.

The main threat with the storms will be large hail and damaging winds, but a few tornadoes cannot be ruled out. Make sure to have several ways of receiving weather alerts, stay in a safe place, and seek safe shelter as soon as a warning is issued for your location.

The next threat is flooding. Several rounds of storms and showers will continue in a not-so-organized way on Thursday, with conditions improving gradually on Friday but with clouds still on the way. The forecast calls for rainfall totals between 1 to 3 inches but some isolated areas could receive 5 inches. Remember to run around, don’t drown. Thursday’s storms will mainly come in the afternoon and evening and the morning will be more under scattered showers.

The slight risk, level 2 of 5 in the severity scale extends to the Northeast across the Ohio Valley. The main threats are damaging winds, followed by hail. But there is a spot focused over eastern Ohio and western Pennsylvania, including Cleveland, and surroundings where a tornado could develop.

There will be several more systems exiting the Rockies throughout the weekend, but it seems like they will not travel south too much and stay stuck over the central plains moving eastward over the Midwest, Ozarks, and Great Lakes area. We will bring you updates throughout the day on our live blog and social media channels. Stay informed and tell your family and friends in threatened areas.