Updated April 23, 2014 at 3:17 p.m.
Scattered severe storms could develop along a dry line developing over the Texas and Oklahoma panhandle Wednesday, but National Weather Service meteorologists are starting to predict the possibility of a more significant severe weather threat this weekend.
Forecaster Marc Austin says the main hazards Wednesday consist of baseball-sized hail, and damaging 70-80 mile-per-hour wind gusts.
http://youtu.be/ZCl86rjNvnI
“We’re not really too concerned about tornadoes on Wednesday, because cloud bases are going to be very high due to the fact that we won’t have a lot of low-level moisture,” Austin said.
A front pushing through the state will lead to a quiet Thursday and Friday, but that moisture will return this weekend.
The Storm Prediction Center’s Day 4-8 Convective Outlook issued Tuesday morning described a “significant multi-day severe event expected across the South-Central U.S.” this weekend, with “strong tornadoes … possible.”
“We’ll continue to see a severe hail and wind threat, and conditions do look supportive of at least a low-end tornado threat,” Austin said. “Some areas may see localized flooding with persistent heavy rainfall.”
Austin says flooding could be more of a problem Sunday if the ground is already soaked from heavy rainfall Saturday.
Still some questions, and nothing is set in stone, but this weekend looks to be busy for severe weather in OK and N TX. Stay tuned! #okwx
— Rick Smith (@ounwcm) April 22, 2014
NWS Warning Coordination Meteorologist Rick Smith said on Twitter there's still uncertainty about what to expect Saturday and Sunday.
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