Severe Thunderstorm Watch for East Texas, Tornadoes Possible

The NWS Storm Prediction Center has issued a Severe Thunderstorm Watch for portions of northeast and east central Texas effective until noon today (May 28)

The primary threats include scattered damaging winds and isolated significant gusts to 80 mph, scattered large hail and isolated very large hail events to 2 inches in diameter, plus, a tornado or two are possible.

A storm cluster with embedded bowing segments and some supercell structure has been intensifying and pushing southeastward this morning.

This line is expected to push into East Texas around mid to late morning on Tuesday. The system could hold together and push all the way to the upper Texas coast.

The severe thunderstorm watch area is approximately 35 statute miles east and west of a line from 40 miles north of Tyler to 15 miles east southeast of Lufkin. There may be a need to issue a new severe thunderstorm watch for counties in southeast Texas as this line of storms continues to progress toward the Beaumont/Houston areas.

A Severe Thunderstorm Watch means conditions are favorable for severe thunderstorms in and close to the watch area. Persons in these areas should be on the lookout for threatening weather conditions and listen for later statements and possible
warnings.

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The latest outlook from the Storm Prediction Center places much of central and east Texas in danger of destructive winds gusting to hurricane strength.

Much of the same area is at risk for hailstones larger than 2 inches in diameter.

Severe thunderstorms can and occasionally do produce tornadoes. Several tornado warnings have already been issued this morning for areas to the east and southeast of Dallas.

At 8 a.m. today, the Storm Prediction Center included a larger section of East Texas into the enhanced threat for severe storms.

The counties included in the current watch are Angelina, Cherokee, Gregg, Sabine, San Augustine, Shelby, Smith, Upshur, and Wood.