The severe storms have been non-stop in west Texas since Friday evening. That threat will continue this afternoon and evening. The yellow areas, generally north of Lubbock, have the potential to see severe storms today. The major threats will be quarter, to golf ball size hail and 70 mph wind. An isolated tornado can not be ruled out either. The window for storms seems to be from 4:00-9:00 pm. The latest high resolution models actually have the storms just missing our area to the north. That would be good news for us. However, the ingredients are there today for those yellow areas to get some bad storms.
Ok. On to tomorrow. Tuesday is shaping up to be a significant severe weather day. The Storm Prediction Center has basically the entire area under an enhanced risk for severe storms. That is category three out of five. We had a slight risk (category 2) yesterday and had those three tornadoes in Lynn County. This is going to be a very dangerous situation tomorrow. You need to have a plan of action in place now. Plan for dangerous storms capable of baseball size hail, 80 mph wind and several tornadoes. These tornadoes may even have wind close to 100 mph. Be sure to plan ahead!
Timing for storms Tuesday shows them setting up near, or just west of Lubbock by 4:00 pm. They will form and quickly become severe. There will be several storms ongoing by 6:00 pm. The storm motion will take them to the northeast. Our window for storms is looking to be 4:00-10:00 pm, with Swisher, Briscoe and Hall Counties having a threat until midnight. I can't stress enough how being prepared is key tomorrow.
You need to have a safe place to shelter now. The best place is a storm shelter, or basement. If you don't have one of those, go to the lowest level of your home, away from windows and shelter in a bathroom, or closet in the center of your home. Put as many walls between you and the outside walls as possible. There will be an outbreak of very strong storms tomorrow, you do not want to be caught unprepared. Remember, a mobile home is not a safe place to be in a tornado. If you live in a mobile home, please ask a friend, or neighbor today, if you can shelter with them in a house, or somewhere more sturdy.