Severe Weather with Tornadoes, Hail, Damaging Winds Threaten South US

After a brief break, severe weather is back in the South of the United States. Residents in the area should be prepared for potential tornadoes, hail, and strong winds.

The potential of tornadoes, hail, and damaging winds has returned this week after a break from the severe storms that appeared to have dogged the southern US for the majority of the spring. On Thursday, there is a particularly high danger of severe thunderstorms from southern Kansas to central Oklahoma as well as across Central Texas.

Severe Weather is Back in the South US

The southern Plains are still under threat from severe thunderstorms, according to the FOX Forecast Center, with Thursday posing the greatest risk for hail, damaging winds, and potentially a tornado.

Storms will form Thursday afternoon into the evening from the southern regions of Kansas through the central regions of Oklahoma and Texas thanks to a tight band of moisture.

The possible threat now extends to some of those other metro regions, including San Antonio, Austin, Dallas, and Oklahoma City, according to FOX Weather analyst Marissa Torres. It might happen during a commute home in the evening.

Oklahoma and south-central Kansas appear to have the highest danger of tornadoes, where conditions could be favorable late in the afternoon for supercells to form. Oklahoma City and the Interstates 40, 44, and 35 are included in this zone.

Supercells are the least frequent type of thunderstorm, yet they have a high propensity to generate severe weather, according to the National Weather Service.

Hail and Tornadoes

The heart of Texas is threatened by hail up to 2 inches in diameter, according to the FOX Forecast Center. Hailstones as big as limes or possibly larger may fall on communities in the southwest of Dallas and the west of San Antonio.

One of the bigger concerns for the region, according to FOX Weather analyst Britta Merwin, might come from the hail component. In Texas, it is hail season. And over the Hill Country, some quite sizable hailstones may fall.

Texas's hail season, according to KVUE, lasts from March to August. This was noted in the news source's piece about shielding vehicles against hailstorms during the season.

Damaging Winds

Any thunderstorm that forms during Thursday's severe weather has a chance of producing strong, damaging winds in addition to the threat of a tornado and large hail.

However, although Thursday's severe thunderstorms could affect millions of people in the central and southern plains, persistent clouds may prevent widespread storms from forming.

Merwin added that there is a sizable quantity of cloud cover in the direction of West Texas. As a result, a lot of attention will be paid to North Texas and Southeast Texas, where there may be a breach in the cloud deck.

Severe Thunderstorms

Through Friday, the front that is igniting the storms will be essentially stationary, raising the possibility of another severe weather risk from Texas and into the lower Mississippi Valley.

The danger to terminate the workweek doesn't seem to be as great as what is predicted for Thursday, according to the FOX Forecast Center.

From Dallas to Laredo in Texas, as well as in parts of eastern Arkansas, Mississippi, West Tennessee, and northern Louisiana, there will be a chance for severe thunderstorms.

Severe thunderstorms are once again probable this weekend throughout parts of Texas, southern Oklahoma, and even into the Midwest.

The Texas-Mexico border and the cities from Dallas to San Antonio will need to keep a watch on the skies for any developing storms.

Also probable are strong to severe thunderstorms from central and southern Iowa. This includes Des Moines, to central and northern Missouri, as well as Kansas City and St. Louis, and into west-central Illinois, FOX Weather reports.