Hail and severe storms are possible across parts of the Texas Panhandle on Friday, July 31. The National Weather Service (NWS) says hazardous conditions could develop this afternoon.
Meteorologists at the agency’s Amarillo office say there is a 30% chance of showers and thunderstorms, mainly after 4 p.m. Friday and through 1 a.m. Saturday, August 1. Amarillo, Vega, Hereford, Claude, Clarendon and Wellington are under a Level 1 of 5 risk for severe weather.
Any storms that develop could produce penny-sized hail and wind gusts up to 70 mph, the NWS says. While the likelihood is very low, a tornado could also form. If storms do become this severe, it would happen between 3 p.m. and 11 p.m., the agency wrote on its website. Residents in the affected areas may want to keep weather alerts enabled as conditions develop.
It’s too soon to tell which cities could be most severely affected. The NWS says it depends on how quickly and in which direction the wind shifts.
If showers and storms remain south of I-40, only the far southern parts of Randall and Deaf Smith counties may be affected, meteorologists say. However, “there are some suggestions it will be further north, and storms could develop right over Amarillo,” bringing torrential rainfall, the NWS wrote in its forecast discussion.
“Should storms end up south of I-40, there still is expected to be a second round of storms coming off the high terrain of New Mexico that should move into at least the southwest Panhandles, maybe even stretch to Amarillo,” the agency adds.
It comes as the region is experiencing a period of intense heat. During the daylight hours, temperatures are expected to range from 95 degrees in Vega to 103 degrees in Wellington, with southwest winds around 15 mph. After sunset, Amarillo-area temperatures are expected to drop to around 70 degrees.