There has been a prolonged timeframe without severe weather for this time of year in North Texas, but that will change over the weekend. Friday began with a deck of low clouds streaming in from the south, breezy conditions, and temperatures hovering near 70 degrees. Friday will be relatively quiet, with breezy conditions and peaks of afternoon sun. Afternoon highs will reach the mid-80s.
Scattered strong to severe thunderstorms will develop to the west late Friday, containing large hail, damaging winds, and isolated tornadoes. These storms will be moving northeast through southern Oklahoma and into North Texas by daybreak. I’m not overly concerned about severe weather on Saturday morning.
Scattered showers will continue through mid-morning into the early afternoon, with nothing severe expected. Daytime highs will reach the low 80s. By late afternoon, the dryline will become active again, producing showers and storms closer to the Dallas-Fort Worth area along the 281 corridor. These storms will be racing northeast through the evening hours. Areas along and west of the Sherman to Denton to Weatherford line should remain weather-aware. A few of these storms could impact our counties along Highway 380 and points north towards late evening, with large hail, damaging winds, and isolated tornadoes possible, especially northwest of DFW.
The entire system will pass through between 3 a.m. and 6 a.m. on Easter morning. After midnight, a significant line of showers and storms will develop just west of Wichita Falls, Abilene, stretching down to Del Rio. This line of storms will move rapidly through the early morning hours, containing small hail, damaging winds, and brief weak tornadoes. Everything should be east of Central Expressway and Interstate 45 by daybreak. General rainfall totals will be between 1-2 inches in DFW, with heavier totals northwest and lighter totals southeast.
Clouds will struggle to clear until after the noon hour as dry air filters in from the west. High temperatures will reach the low to mid-70s. Sunday evening will be an excellent time to fire up the grill…