National Weather Service United States Department of Commerce

Coastal Threats for the East and Gulf; Record Warmth for the Central U.S.

Persistent onshore flow across the Southeast and portions of the mid-Atlantic will keep the risk of rip currents through the weekend. Rainfall could be locally heavy across Florida, especially along the eastern shoreline. Meanwhile, record warmth for portions of the Plains and Midwest with elevated fire concerns. For the west, a trough will keep the pattern unsettled with wet conditions. 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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