Severe storms expected later today

Severe storms expected later today

Severe weather is expected across the South Plains late this afternoon into the evening. The likelihood of any one location getting a severe storm is higher today than yesterday. It’s still not a guarantee that every location will get stormy weather. And there are still some limiting factors on the overall severe threat. But it is significant enough that you need to pay close attention to the weather today.

Interactive radar map
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A reminder that when a watch is issued it means there is the potential for severe weather in the coming hours. A warning means it’s happening right now and you need to take action immediately. 

This morning it’s cloudy and humid after storms last night. There should be more sun through this afternoon, warming into the mid 80s. Combine this with the dew point in the mid 60s and there will be strong surface instability. You can watch the humidity with this map. Dew points in the mid to upper 60s are quite high for our area.

The dry line will mix a little farther east than yesterday, probably somewhere over the western South Plains this afternoon. We’ll watch for storm development somewhere between 2-4 p.m. Storms will move to the east. The Storm Prediction Center has highlighted most of our area with the risk for severe storms:

The greatest risk is large hail, around the size of golf balls to baseballs. Damaging wind gusts past 70mph will also be possible. While the low-level wind field won’t be incredibly organized, there should be enough shear, including in the low levels, to produce a few tornadoes. The tornado risk will probably increase some closer to early evening. Still, the number of tornadoes, if any, should remain low compared to the number of storms with just large hail. We did have some hail and wind damage from one storm around Seminole and Gaines County last night.

Storms should be out of here late tonight. We’ll then watch the potential for severe storms tomorrow. The position of the dry line will determine where storms get going tomorrow. Latest trends hold the dry line back farther west, meaning Lubbock may wind up with a storm tomorrow too. The Rolling Plains has a higher risk for storms tomorrow.

Check back here for updates as things unfold. Our full weather team will be watching this setup. A reminder if you’re away from home and we’re providing long-form coverage you can listen to our coverage on 93.7 The Eagle, Rock 96.9, Double T 97.3, Oldies 97.7, Magic 106.5, 107.7 Yes FM and AM 950-100.7 FM.

-Matt