SHREVEPORT, La. (KTAL/KMSS) – A strong cold front will move in tonight bringing the threat of large hail. The storms are expected to develop around sunset, with the severe weather threat continuing through the overnight hours.
Warmest day of the week: Today will be the warmest day of the week bringing highs in the mid to upper 70s this afternoon, with 80 degrees possible throughout Louisiana and Texas. It will also be breezy, with a southeast wind of 15 to 20 miles per hour, with gusts up to 25 miles per hour. This wind will be bringing the warm and humid air needed for thunderstorms to develop.
Hail will be the primary severe weather risk: As colder air arrives at the upper levels with a cold front this evening into tonight the temperature difference from the surface to the air above us will bring the ingredients for large hail to develop. The Storm Prediction Center has a ‘Slight Risk’ outlook for severe weather across most of the ArkLaTex. This means scattered severe storms are possible, but widespread severe weather is not expected. We can’t rule out a few high wind gusts, but the threat for damaging wind is low, and the threat of any tornadoes is very low.
Storm timing: Thunderstorms may begin to develop between 7 – 9 p.m. over east Texas and Oklahoma. This initial round of storms will move through the remainder of the ArkLaTex including Arkansas and Louisiana between 8 p.m. and midnight. There is the potential to see a 2nd round of storms in the northern ArkLaTex between midnight and 6 a.m. Friday. The storms will be moving quickly which should keep rainfall accumulations less than an inch in most areas. The severe weather threat will end by sunrise Friday.
Make sure you have multiple ways to receive severe weather warnings tonight, including a NOAA weather radio, enabling emergency alerts on your mobile phone, and our Weather Authority app.
Get exclusive severe weather details on storms as they approach your area by downloading the Arklatex Weather Authority app now available in the App Store and Google Play
