Tuesday Morning Update

From Meteorologist Brandon Rector...

It was a noisy night across portions of the Big Country as strong to severe thunderstorms moved through during the overnight hours. These storms moved into Scurry and Mitchell counties before dying out over Taylor and Runnels counties shortly before sunrise. We received 0.72" of rain at Abilene Regional Airport when all was said and done.

Another hot afternoon is on tap for us today with highs expected to reach the low 90s under partly cloudy skies. The dryline should be active yet again this afternoon just to our west. Also, a cold front to our north and northwest will begin its slow southward movement into the Big Country. Both of these boundaries will act as lifting mechanisms for the moisture that remains in place across much of the state. Our chance for rain today is 20%. The storms will likely fire up during the late afternoon and evening hours just as they have for the past couple of days.

By Wednesday and Thursday, the cold front should be pretty close to us and may even be passing through the area during this time. Because of this our chance for rain is a little better on those days. That chance stands at 30% right now. Highs should be cooler due to the extra cloud cover and cooler air. In fact, highs are expected to be around the mid to upper 80s.

A 20% chance of isolated thunderstorms continues into Friday with partly cloudy skies and highs in the upper 80s. Any thunderstorms we see Tuesday through Friday have the potential to reach severe limits with the main threats being large hail and damaging winds. Also, some of these storms will contain heavy rainfall. Everyone needs to be careful when traveling on roadways during these conditions. Ponding can occur and you don't want to try and cross the road when water is covering it. Remember, turn around don't drown.

We dry out and warm up this weekend and early next week. Highs look to be back in the low to mid 90s.

Have a terrific Tuesday!