2:30 AM FRIDAY UPDATE:
*****SOME SEVERE WEATHER STILL POSSIBLE FRIDAY AFTERNOON****
*****WE'RE IN FOR A COLD WEEKEND WITH SOME FROST OR EVEN A LIGHT FREEZE IN SOME AREAS SUNDAY MORNING*****
Thunderstorms were heavy in some southeastern areas on Thursday but no damaging weather was reported. Additional rain totals of one half inch to an inch and a half fell in parts of Sabine county. A few breif heavy storms also developed in Shelby county and briefly into parts of Panola, Harrison, Marion and Cass counties, but again no damaging weather occured. North of the Dallas - Ft. Worth area it was a different story as super-cell thunderstorms dumped large hail and even spawned a few tornadoes between Muenster and Lindsay in Cooke county and in the Sherman - Denison area of Grayson county. A few mobile homes were reportedly destroyed. Those storms weakenend rapidly as they moved across Fannin and Lamar counties and the weather is quiet across most of North and East Texas during these early morning hours.
However a strong upper level storm system continues to move southeastward out of the Rocky Mountain States wuth it's associated cold front now moving southeastward across the South Plains of Texas. That cold front will push across Central and North Central Texas Friday morning, but any thunderstorm development will be isolated due to a lack of deep moisture. However, the cold front will encounter much deeper moisture as it moves into East Texas during the midday and afternoon hours. The result will be an ignition of thunderstorms near a line from Clarksville to Tyler and to Centerville around or shortly afternoon noon. The storms may be scattered at first but then develop into a solid squall line as the afternoon progresses. These storms can contain strong straight line winds in excess of 60 mph and scattered hail (some of it large). A few tornadoes could even occur, especially in the eastern and southeastern portions of the area. Knowing the exact starting area for this line of storms is impossible at this time, but it certainly looks like there's a decent chance of storms in Tyler and an even better chance for Longview and other cities near and to the east of State Highways 37 and 69. The squall line should move out of East Texas by 6 or 7 PM. Cold and gusty northwesterly winds will follow the frontal passage and temperatures will quickly drop into the 50s Friday evening and then all the way down to near 40 by Saturday morning. There will probably even be some wet snow or flurries in some of counties along the Red River Friday night and Saturday morning. Saturday will start out cloudy but then turn partly to mostly sunny during the afternoon. Northwesterly winds will average 20-30 mph with some gusts over 40 mph. Skies will be clear Saturday night and winds will diminish causing temperatures to drop into the 30s. Some frost is likely and a light freeze may even occur in some areas out in the country early Sunday morning. Sunday will be beautiful with sunny skies and milder temperatures during the afternoon as winds become light southerly. A series of upper level disturbances will move across the area next week. Moisture will be limited early in the week so shower chances will only be slight. However by midweek enough Gulf moisture may be present for a few showers or thunderstorms followed by dry and cool weather for the end of next week.
FORECAST DETAILS:
OVERNIGHT: Clear to partly cloudy with patchy fog. Lows 55-62. WInds SE 6-12 mph.
DURING THE DAY FRIDAY: Windy and warm with a mixture of clouds and sunshine during the morning. Highs 70-74 around lunchtime. Then a brief period of heavy thunderstorms is likely during the afternoon, mainly near and to the east of a line from Sulphur Springs to Tyler and to Palestine. A few storms could be severe with very strong winds and scattered large hail. Winds South 20 mph during the morning and midday, then variable strong and gusty in thunderstorms, then WNW at 20-35 mph by evening.
FRIDAY NIGHT: Mostly cloudy, windy and much colder. Low near 40. WInds NW 20-30 mph.
SATURDAY: Cloudy, windy and cold during the morning, then becoming partly sunny in the afternoon. Highs only 50-55. Winds NW 20-35 mph and gusty.
SATURDAY NIGHT: Clear and cold with frost likely in some areas by Sunday morning. Lows 31-37. NW winds diminishing to 5-10 mph.
SUNDAY: Sunny and much milder by afternoon. High 68. Winds NW, becoming Southerly at 10 mph.
MONDAY: Mosty cloudy, windy and warmer with just a slight chance (20%) of a brief showers. Low 50, High 74. Winds South, becoming NW at 20 mph.
TUESDAY: Partly sunny (still a slight chance - 20% - for a shower). Low 47, High 72. Winds SE 10 mph.
WEDNESDAY: Mostly cloudy with a better chance (30%) for scattered thunderstorms. LOw 55, High 75. Winds S 20 mph.
THURSDAY: Mostly sunny, windy and cooler. Low 50, High 69. WInds NW 15 mph.
Scott Chesner