More tornadoes for the Plains

Severe weather and tornadoes continued to pound the Plains yesterday, and more severe weather is on the way today. On Thursday, four tornadoes ripped through Oklahoma, including a twister that hit the northwest suburbs of Oklahoma City. This tornado damaged 50 buildings and injured four people. All of the injuries were were people in mobile homes or vehicles, as is typical for tornado victims. Thursday's four twisters came a day after 65 tornadoes swept through Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, Colorado, and Nebraska, killing four people. A tornado in Holly, Colorado did extensive damage, killing one person and injuring eleven. It was the first tornado fatality in Colorado since 1960. The two tornado fatalities in Oklahoma Wednesday were that state's first deaths in five years. One other person died in a tornado that struck the Texas Panhandle Wednesday. Several of Wednesday's tornadoes were strong EF2s with winds of 111 - 135 mph. Damage surveys have not yet been completed on the Holly, CO tornado, and most of the other 65 tornadoes from that day.

Expect another significant severe weather outbreak late this afternoon in the Plains, according to the latest severe weather outlook from the Storm Prediction Center. They have placed Central Texas, including Dallas/Fort Worth, in their "Moderate Risk" area for severe weather. Four tornadoes have already touched down in Texas this morning, but none caused significant damage. Flash flooding and large hail--including baseball sized hail--have also occurred in Southwest Texas this morning. Keep an eye on the Central Texas radar (Figure 1) all day, as these severe thunderstorms grow in intensity and start spawning tornadoes.


Figure 1. Current radar for Central Texas.

Jeff Masters