Thursday, May 7, 2015

Severe Weather Danger Looms Again Late Week Across the Plains

By Jordan Root, Meteorologist
May 7,2015; 9:26PM,EDT
 
 
Following the severe weather outbreak that occurred on Wednesday, more rounds of severe storms are expected to slam the Plains again as the week comes to an end.
The atmosphere will remain in an unstable state Thursday and Friday across several states in the central Plains along with moist air from the Gulf clashing with dry air from the Southwest.
"A trough of low pressure will send pieces of energy into the Plains Thursday and Friday and storms will fire along the dryline," said AccuWeather Storm Warning Meteorologist Billy Clark.
The dry line is similar to a cold front, except the boundary separates dry air from the west from moist air to the east.
Storms are set to blossom across eastern Colorado, Kansas, Oklahoma and Texas mainly late in the day and will likely carry over into the night.

One complex of storms with intense rainfall and locally gusty winds has developed Thursday midday over northwestern Texas.
Any afternoon or evening plans, such as baseball games, picnics, or walks may need to be rescheduled for another day. Those who do find themselves outside will want to keep an eye to the sky and also to their AccuWeather mobile app for the latest weather alerts.
Like the storms on Wednesday, damaging winds, hail, tornadoes and flash flooding are all possible Thursday and Friday.
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Around 50 reports of tornadoes were documented in Wednesday's severe weather outbreak, along with numerous hail and wind reports.
Flash flooding brought life-threatening conditions to several cities including Lincoln, Nebraska, and Oklahoma City. The latter was issued a flash flood emergency, the first ever issued for the city after over 7 inches of rain fell in a span of seven hours.
Bridge Creek tornado damage from Wednesday. Shown is damage to a daycare. Thankfully all children and adults were safe. Twitter/@CTMcDonell/Cody McDonell
While the tornado count will likely remain lower on Thursday and Friday, tornadoes will still pose a threat for many of the areas that were hit hard on Wednesday.
"Flash flooding will be a main threat since many of these areas are already very saturated from flooding on Wednesday," warned Clark.
"Friday will see a similar setup as Thursday but will likely be farther east," said Clark.

The evening commute could be challenging if storms are around.
Folks are urged to turn around if they encounter high water in their travels and to seek alternative routes if possible. Avoiding travel all together may be the best move if storms are in the area.
Even with Wednesday's severe weather outbreak and the expected severe weather on Thursday and Friday, the worst event may not come until this weekend.
A potent upper-level low that will bring wild weather to California is expected to emerge from the Rockies Saturday. As it does, a major severe weather outbreak is possible across the central and southern Plains.

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