A disturbance high in the atmosphere, or a shortwave trough, is moving on a line from the U.S. Southwest to the Rockies heading east and by Thursday afternoon will reach the Great Plains including the Dallas-Fort Worth region, according to the National Weather Service Fort Worth office report.
This cold front will surely cool things down in North Texas after more than 24 hours of summer-like conditions with some parts of the region feeling the heat in the low 90s. It will also usher in a new line of storms starting south in Goldthwaite through the Metroplex and north to Sherman, according to the latest weather service forecast.
“With good instability and decent shear in place, any storm which develops would have the potential to become severe with large hail being the primary threat,” the NWS forecast states. “Damaging wind gusts would be the secondary threat, with the better wind potential being in the evening when cell mergers and subsequent clusters or lines may contain bowing segments.”
️Severe weather chances will increase tomorrow afternoon! The main threats will be large hail and damaging winds. Make sure you have multiple ways of receiving weather alerts! #dfwwx #ctxwx pic.twitter.com/29cSMJFUl1
— NWS Fort Worth (@NWSFortWorth) April 17, 2024
⚡ More trending stories:
→Snakes are crawling out of hibernation in Texas. Check the toilet before taking a seat.
→In Texas, set your thermostat at 80 when it’s 100 degrees, expert says.
→Groceries at this national chain are the cheapest, study finds.
The weather service says the storms should hit Central and North Texas counties by 4-5 p.m. Thursday with the worst of the events pummeling the region overnight.
“The tornado potential appears low based on unimpressive amounts of low level helicity [fluid moving in a corkscrew pattern],” but depending on local conditions, a gustnado or two can form, according to the weather service.
By Friday, the storms will drift over the Hill Country, possibly stalling, and rain will be the main threat. Clouds will form over Dallas-Fort Worth starting Friday morning and expect rain through most of the weekend.
“Heavy rainfall may lead to flooding” on Saturday, but things ought to dry out by Sunday afternoon, according to the weather service.