Texas is again in crosshairs of more dangerous storms: see full weekend forecast

The central U.S. faces more rounds of thunderstorms on Friday and into the weekend that once again may unleash damaging winds, hail and possible tornadoes across the storm-weary region, much of which is still reeling from weeks of severe weather that spun up deadly twisters and inflicted immense damage.

Over 25 million people from southern Texas and New Mexico to Kansas and Colorado were at risk from the storms, according to the National Weather Service’s Storm Prediction Center. Among the dangerous conditions were high winds, hail larger than 2 inches in diameter and, in west Texas, an isolated tornado. The cities in the storm’s crosshairs include Midland, Odessa, Austin and Houston.

“There’s still plenty of uncertainty as to where exactly storms will initiate and be most impactful,” the weather service noted.

Early Friday morning, meteorologists issued flood and thunderstorm advisories across central and eastern Texas as some rivers approached their flood stage. The weather service placed parts of the Mississippi Valley under flash flood advisories citing the rolling storms forecast to develop over the area.

Through the afternoon on Friday, a slew of thunderstorms will spread across Texas and into western Louisiana, the weather service said. Some hours later, another round of storms will develop and move into parts of Arkansas and southern Missouri while isolated large hail and severe wind gusts strike the central High Plains.

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Storms to batter Plains through the weekend; respite on the horizon

Over the weekend, the most powerful storms will progressively move north, eventually bringing severe conditions to the Upper Plains and parts of the Midwest.

On Saturday, storms are forecast to develop across the central and southern High Plains before organizing into clusters and spreading from eastern Texas to South Dakota. The storms pose risks for severe wind, hail and “perhaps a couple of brief tornadoes,” particularly in Colorado, Nebraska, Kansas, New Mexico and eastern Texas.

Meanwhile, another complex of storms could break out into the central Gulf Coast, dumping excessive rain over much of Mississippi and Alabama.

On Sunday, the storm clusters are expected to center over the Upper Plains, mostly impacting the Dakotas, Nebraska and much of Minnesota. Next week, bad weather is forecast to stay along the northern U.S. and the Midwest, bringing a much-needed reprieve to Texas and the southern Plains.

National weather radar