The weird weather systems that produced hail by the foot in the Texas Panhandle this week is hanging around. And while Austin isn’t expected to bear the brunt of severe weather, it still could make for a wet weekend.
The National Weather Service writes that a tornado outbreak is likely across the nation’s midsection this weekend. A technical version of its forecast can be found here, but on its Facebook page, NWS writes:
The Storm Prediction Center is forecasting a high risk of severe weather, including strong tornadoes, over Kansas and Oklahoma on Saturday evening into the overnight hours. The overall risk area includes Nebraska, much of Iowa, western Illinois, northwest Missouri, and northern Texas.
As the area only includes the northern stretch of Texas, this prediction doesn’t encompass Austin. But the Austin/San Antonio NWS page says thunderstorms could reach Austin by Sunday:
Late Sunday into Monday, the combination of a slow moving cold front colliding with warm moist air from the Gulf of Mexico will result in the potential for showers and strong thunderstorms with locally heavy rain. Upper air disturbances moving across South Texas will add additional atmospheric instability to the region. Some of the thunderstorms that form east of Interstate 35 late Sunday afternoon and Sunday evening could become severe with large hail and damaging winds. Rainfall amounts are expected to average one inch across southern parts of South Central Texas with isolated 3 inch totals possible.
