Dallas faces slow morning commute as flooding rain, severe thunderstorms barrel across region
Thursday's severe weather threat will be centered across areas of Texas and Louisiana that were blasted by a rare and historic blizzard a week ago.
Flash Flood Warning issued in Dallas as torrential rain, severe weather blasts across region
It could be a rough morning commute in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex on Thursday morning as a powerful cross-country storm sweeps through bringing flooding rain and thunderstorms to the region. FOX Weather Meteorologist Britta Merwin has the latest forecast.
FAST FACTS:
- Hail and damaging wind gusts are the primary threats, but some tornadoes are also possible in parts of Texas and Louisiana.
- Same areas impacted by the historic blizzard last week are now threatened by severe weather.
- Torrential rain could lead to flooding from Texas to Kentucky.
DALLAS – Portions of Texas and the northern Gulf Coast are on alert for the potential for severe weather this week from a powerful cross-country storm that’s expected to dump heavy snow in the Southwest and Rockies.
The FOX Forecast Center said that as the slow-moving storm system continues to slide off to the east, it will pull in warm and humid air, which will allow for strong to severe thunderstorms to fire up across Texas and along the Gulf Coast.
The overall severe weather threat on Wednesday was low due to cloud cover and limited atmospheric energy.
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(FOX Weather)
"It’s interesting because this time of year, there’s not a ton of available storm energy," FOX Weather Meteorologist Britta Merwin said. "But what happens is we get low-level wind shear, that’s the change of wind speed and direction close to the ground, a little bit above the ground, and usually when we get tornadoes in the Southeast, Texas, Louisiana this time of year, it’s because of the low-level wind shear."
More than 20 million people from eastern Texas to the lower Mississippi Valley will be at risk of seeing severe thunderstorms on Thursday.
The FOX Forecast Center said the cold front will continue to slide off to the east, and daytime heating will provide additional atmospheric energy to help fire up more thunderstorms.
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The threat zone includes cities such as Houston, The Woodlands, Beaumont and Pasadena in Texas, as well as Lafayette, Alexandria and Lake Charles in Louisiana.
The main threats will again be the risk of hail, damaging wind gusts and even some tornadoes.
These are some of the same areas that experienced a rare and historic blizzard last week.
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(FOX Weather)
Flooding rain will again be of concern across the region, with NOAA’s Weather Prediction Center (WPC) placing cities from northeastern Texas to Kentucky in a Level 2 out of 4 risk of flash flooding.
Flood Watches are already in effect across portions of southeastern Oklahoma and eastern and northern areas of Arkansas, and those are likely to be expanded as the precipitation ramps up.
(FOX Weather)