12:05 AM FRIDAY UPDATE:
***The only county in the KETK viewing area with a Burn Ban in effect is Rains County. However, outdoor burning in other counties should be done with extreme caution. Grass fires popped up in several East Texas counties on Thursday, including Hopkins, Cass, Upshur, Henderson, Nacogdoches and Angelina counties. The danger of grass fires will remain relatively high right into Monday as no rain is expected until very late Monday and Tuesday. Increasing winds on Sunday and Monday will make for an especially high risk.***
A weak cold front is slipping southward across East Texas during these late night hours. There were a few light showers in the northern portions of East Texas during the evening (mainly between Mount Pleasant and Atlanta), but most areas only saw a few sprinkles and the activity has totally dissipated now. Therefore, no rain is expected at all in the immediate Tyler - Longview area. Temperatures behind the front will be just a tad cooler on Friday with highs mainly in the lower 70s with a good deal of sunshine, especially during the afternoon hours. The nice weather will continue on Saturday with partly to mostly sunny skies and highs again in the low to mid 70s. Skies will become mostly cloudy by Sunday as southeasterly winds increase to 15-25 mph drawing in low level moisture from off of the Gulf of Mexico. This will set the stage for a round of strong thunderstorms during late Monday night or Tuesday as a very strong storm system takes shape over the western U.S. and then races eastward across the central and northern Great Plains States late Monday and Tuesday. The cold front that trails that storm system should be strong enough to trigger a squall line as it moves eastward across Texas. That squall line will probably arrive in East Texas sometime Tuesday morning or at the latest during the afternoon. Heavy rain (possibly 1 to 2 inches, brief strong winds (in excess of 55 mph) and some scattered hail may accompany the storms so stay tuned for updates as we get closer to Monday night and Tuesday. As long as the cold front keeps moving we can expect clearing skies and cooler temepratures for Wednesday and Thursday of next week.
FORECAST DETAILS:
OVERNIGHT: Partly cloudy and mild. Lows 50-54. Winds ENE 10 mph.
DURING THE DAY FRIDAY: Spring officially arrives at 6:44 AM: Some mornign cloudiness, then mostly sunny and very comfortable. High 72. Winds E 10 mph.
FRIDAY NIGHT: Mostly clear and little cooler. Lows: 46-52.
SATURDAY: Mostly sunny, breezy and mild.... High 74. Winds SE 10 mph.
SUNDAY: Mostly cloudy, windy and mild. Low 55, High 74. Winds SSE 20 mph.
MONDAY: Mostly cloudy, windy, warmer and humid with a slight chance (30%) for scattered thunderstorms during the evening....then a better chance of storms towards early morning. Monday's temps: Low 62, High 74. Winds S 20-30 mph.
TUESDAY: A good chance of thunderstorms (70%), especially in the morning and into midday. A few storms could be severe. Low 62, High 70. Winds S becoming NW 15 mph.
WEDNESDAY: Partly sunny and cooler. Low 55, High 65. Winds N 10 mph.
THRUSDAY: Sunny and cool. Low 45, High 67. Winds NW 15 mph.
Scott Chesner