Blog Article

Tropical Depression One-E Forms & Plains Severe Weather

Tropical season is here with TD One-E in the Pacific. We are also tracking a Slight Risk for severe storms in the Dakotas and flooding in West Texas.

Tropical Season Wakes Up While the Plains Brace for More Hail

Good morning, y'all. Yesterday was a busy one across the map. We saw massive 3.5-inch hail drop in New Mexico, a confirmed tornado in Wyoming, and some serious flash flooding up in South Dakota. The atmosphere is not taking a break today. We have our first official tropical depression of the season, plus more severe weather and heavy rain for the central US.

The Eastern Pacific Wakes Up

Get this, tropical season is officially on the board. Tropical Depression One-E formed out in the Eastern Pacific early this morning. Right now it has sustained winds around 35 mph. The National Hurricane Center expects it to strengthen into a tropical storm later today.

It is moving northwest and staying well off the coast of Baja California, so it is not a direct threat to land. But we are also watching a second area of low pressure off the coast of Central America. That one has a 50 percent chance of developing over the next seven days. Even though these are Pacific storms, it is a great reminder to go ahead and check those hurricane kits for the season.

Hail and Wind for the Northern Plains

Up in the Dakotas and western Minnesota, we are tracking a Slight Risk for severe storms today. A cold front is pushing through, and the air ahead of it is primed. The main things we are watching are damaging wind gusts over 60 mph and large hail.

The Storm Prediction Center has a hatched area highlighted for hail up to two inches in diameter. That is hen-egg size, folks. It is big enough to crack a windshield or dent a roof. If you are heading to the White Sox and Twins game up in Minneapolis tonight, you are sitting right on the edge of that Marginal and Slight risk zone. Keep an eye on the sky and have the radar handy on your phone.

Tomorrow, that severe threat does not vanish. The Day 2 Slight Risk shifts a bit west into the Northern High Plains of South Dakota, northern Nebraska, and Wyoming.

Water Worries in Texas and New Mexico

We also have to talk about the rain. The Weather Prediction Center has a Slight Risk for excessive rainfall in two main spots today. The first is up with those northern storms in the Dakotas. The second is down in West Texas and eastern New Mexico.

We are looking at storms that could train over the same areas. That means one storm drops heavy rain, and the next one follows right behind it on the exact same path. The ground in the Texas Panhandle and the Trans-Pecos region can only take so much water before it runs off. We saw life-threatening flash flooding yesterday in South Dakota when water overtook Highway 18. These localized floods happen fast.

Bottom Line

The tropics are officially active, but the immediate impacts are right here in the central US. Have a reliable way to get warnings today if you live in the Dakotas, western Minnesota, or West Texas. Park the cars in the garage if you are in that northern hail threat zone. Never drive your vehicle into flooded roadways.

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