A tornado watch was issued for parts of Texas and Louisiana Thursday night as a line of thunderstorms slammed the south-central United States, threatening the region with huge hail, damaging winds, and heavy rain.
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott mobilized state emergency response resources earlier in the day, anticipating an “increased severe weather threat” in the state’s eastern half. The governor’s office cautioned that severe thunderstorms are expected in parts of north, central, east, and southeast Texas.
“Given sufficient energy and a pronounced change in wind speed and direction with height in the atmosphere, all modes of severe weather are on the table, including hail, flooding, high winds, and isolated tornadoes,” Gwen Fieweger, an AccuWeather meteorologist, stated in an online forecast.
The National Weather Service predicted that the wave of storms would extend from southeastern Oklahoma to areas of Arkansas and Louisiana. Tornado watches were issued for southeast Texas, west central, and southwest Louisiana until 2 a.m. local time on Friday.
According to AccuWeather, Houston, which saw severe rains that caused airline delays on Christmas Eve, will expect an increased danger of thunderstorms on Thursday. The storms are expected to continue over the weekend, bringing more rain, hail, and maybe tornadoes.
The Houston Weather Service has issued a warning that the region’s weather conditions may cause building and tree damage.
On Thursday, powerful storms dumped heavy rain and snow across the Pacific Northwest. The meteorological service predicts that creeks and streams in the San Francisco Bay Area will rise through Friday, while regions of Oregon may experience destructive gusts.
Forecasters warned that the weather could cause complications for some people traveling the day after Christmas. Earlier Thursday, some airports suspended flights and reported delays.
A possible tornado was detected in southeast Texas.
Law enforcement and emergency personnel reported a probable tornado near El Campo, Wharton County, about 70 miles southwest of Houston. Authorities warned citizens to seek urgent shelter.
The Wharton County Sheriff’s Office and the Wharton County Office of Emergency Management reported the tornado Thursday afternoon. According to the sheriff’s office on social media, the tornado was first spotted near Highway 59 and an El Campo gas station before moving northeast into Pierce.
Although no casualties or significant damage were reported, according to the sheriff’s and emergency management offices, some barns were damaged.
“It appears that the bad weather has left Wharton County,” the sheriff’s office stated in a subsequent report. “Those to our east, please stay safe and be weather alert.”
The atmospheric river brings storms to the West
A days-long run of bad weather in the West shows no signs of ending. An atmospheric river that has brought repeated rounds of severe storms to the Pacific Northwest this week will continue to pummel the region with rain and snow.
Forecasters with the meteorological service predict 1 to 3 inches of rain on Thursday from northwestern California to western Oregon and the Olympic Peninsula of Washington, with “some instances of flooding where rainfall rates are highest.”
An additional 1 to 2 inches of rain is forecast from Thursday night to Friday morning, combined with possibly damaging gusts and heavy snow in the Cascades and Olympic Mountains. By Sunday, northwestern California and southern Oregon could receive up to 18 inches of rain.
“Since the ground is already soaked from prior storms, any additional rainfall through Friday will increase the threat for flooding and mudslides, especially across burn scar areas and along short-run rivers out of the Cascades,” Tyler Roys, an AccuWeather meteorologist, reported.
The weather service issued winter storm warnings for much of the Northwest, including northern California, Washington, Montana, Idaho, Nevada, and Utah.
Blizzard conditions throughout the mountains of Oregon and Washington are a major concern for forecasts, with up to 2 feet of snow expected to fall through Friday, boosting the risk of avalanches, AccuWeather reported.
“Travel could be very difficult,” according to storm warnings issued by the Spokane, Washington weather service office. “Heavy wet snow falling at one inch per hour or more at times could lead to isolated tree damage and power outages.”
Storms cause grounded airplanes and airport delays
As showers and thunderstorms hit the Northwest and several southern states, airport delays and cancellations began to pile up.
Flights at Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport were temporarily stopped “due to thunderstorms,” according to the Federal Aviation Administration. According to FlightAware, by Thursday night, over 200 flights had been delayed and over 500 had been canceled at the major airport.
Other Texas airports, including George Bush Intercontinental/Houston Airport and Dallas Love Field Airport, reported significant delays.
The FAA said that aircraft at San Francisco International Airport were momentarily grounded due to severe winds.
Meanwhile, airports in Albuquerque, New Mexico, and Salt Lake City, Utah, sprayed flights with deicing fluid.
Source: Powerful thunderstorms batter parts of Texas, threatening region with tornadoes