Significant severe weather capable of giant hail and destructive winds has begun to erupt across the southern Plains and Lower Mississippi Valley on Mother’s Day.
The greatest threat is across central Texas, from the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex to San Angelo, where a Level 3 out of 5 severe weather risk has been issued.
These storms all come as part of the continued multi-day threat that has brought severe storms across the Plains, Midwest, and Deep South over the past week, including powerful tornadoes.
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As a cold front pushed south on Sunday, it clashed with warm, humid air, causing storms to "explode" around midday.
Initially, these storms were expected to be discrete supercells capable of producing very large hail, with some stones potentially exceeding the size of a baseball.
As the afternoon progressed, the individual storms would have likely merged into a single, massive storm system traveling quickly across the region.
Because the lower levels of the atmosphere will be extremely warm and dry, these storms could produce significant damaging winds, with gusts potentially topping 70 mph, the FOX Forecast Center said.
A Level 3 out of 5 severe storm threat spans across central Texas, from the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex to San Angelo, with a broader Level 2 threat extending into parts of Oklahoma, Arkansas, Louisiana and Mississippi.
As a result of the growing storm threat, Texas Governor Gregg Abbott has activated state emergency response resources in anticipation of potential impacts across much of the state.
This comes as the National Weather Service has warned of significant thunderstorm activity starting Sunday night, including damaging winds that could exceed 75 mph and hail up to 2 inches in diameter.
During the month of May, these regions are typically the hotspot for severe storms and tornadoes, including states from Nebraska through central Texas, the heart of the well-known Tornado Alley.
Additionally, May also averages the highest number of tornadoes of any month during the year, which has not been the case so far this season. However, conditions may change toward the end of the month.
Long-range forecasts suggest the atmospheric pattern will shift, bringing a return of troughing to the West.
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