How Worried Should You Be About Tonight’s Storms in East Texas?

How Bad Is It Going To Get Tonight?

Firstly, all of East Texas will get storms tonight.  The National Weather Service is forecasting a 100% of rain and thunderstorms across the Pineywoods tonight. The worst of that should occur between 10 p.m. and 4 a.m.

A large swath from roughly Tyler to Waco to Abilene is an 'enhanced' area that is expected to have the highest threat of severe weather. Lufkin and Nacogdoches are just on the fringe of that target zone.

Scattered storms will pop up across east and northeast Texas as the evening progresses. Some of those have already been severe. A storm south of Tyler dropped golf ball-sized hail and was tornado warned.

What About Tornadoes?

The biggest threat for tornadoes will be concentrated in north-central Texas near Killeen and Waco. However, much of the Pineywoods is in the brown section, indicating a 5% chance of a tornado touching down within 25 miles of you.

Those aren't great odds, but it's higher than my favorite tornado number, and that's zero percent.

Timing of the Storms

Scattered storms will continue to develop throughout the evening, however, as we get later at night (before and after midnight), a solid line of strong to severe thunderstorms is expected to move through Deep East Texas.

The map above shows the high probability of thunderstorms during the evening until about 11 p.m. tonight. Lufkin, Nacogdoches, and areas to our north and west are targeted for that.

As we get past 11 p.m. and into the overnight hours, that solid line of storms will advance deeper into east and southeast Texas.

Stay Informed

Hopefully, the worst of the weather will stay away from the Pineywoods, but always have a safety plan just in case. It's even worse that many of these storms are expected to occur well after bedtime for many.

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