After a rather arid meteorological spring, locations across the Plains are finally getting much-needed rainfall into the start of this week.
Published Jun 3, 2023 11:36 AM EDT | Updated Jun 4, 2023 11:27 AM EDT
AccuWeather forecasters say that states positioned along the eastern edge of the Rocky Mountains will continue to face an influx of moisture through the remainder of this weekend. Repeat downpours and afternoon thunderstorms are expected to dampen locations from Idaho and Montana to western Texas during this time frame.
Rounds of showers and storms have been ongoing for many days now, but were especially intense on Saturday. From the High Plains to the Southeast, warm and humid air helped these storms rapidly develop, bringing heavy rain, strong wind gusts and hail to some areas.
Clusters of thunderstorms ongoing late in the evening on Saturday, June 3, over a large swath of Texas and Louisiana. (AccuWeather)
Texas saw a large chunk of this activity across the state, with storms impacting the High Plains, Rio Grande Valley and central regions of the state around the same time. Late Saturday evening, storms rolled through Amarillo, Austin and McAllen simultaneously, bringing a wide range of severe hazards along with them.
Later at night, storms pressed eastward, blasting through College Station, Texas, with wind gusts reaching 85 mph. Storms also brought heavy rain and frequent lightning to the Houston metro area.
Rounds of thunderstorms to continue
On Sunday afternoon, thunderstorms will continue to nudge into the Colorado Rockies and over portions of Idaho, Montana, Wyoming and central Utah. However, some thundershowers can kick up prior to midday across western Nebraska, eastern Colorado and western South Dakota as moisture is steered northward from the Gulf of Mexico.
It is not out of the question for some storms to produce a flash flood risk across some Central states through the end of the weekend, especially if they move through areas where heavy rain has already fallen recently. Localized pockets of convection can briefly ramp up into severe thunderstorms during the afternoon, with downpours and wind being the primary risks. However, small hail can occur in the right environment, and forecasters emphasize that storms that ramp up to severe levels will be fairly isolated on Sunday.
"A slight reduction in heat and humidity will lead to less energy available in the atmosphere, keeping any severe chances isolated across the Plains," explained AccuWeather Meteorologist Andrew Johnson-Levine.
Conditions over parts of the central U.S. have been particularly dry lately. The lack of substantial rainfall has marked this region with levels of severe to exceptional drought, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor's latest update on Thursday, June 1.
Forecasters say that this ongoing moisture expansion pattern across the region can prove helpful for the drought levels.
"Most of Nebraska, Kansas and Oklahoma are still experiencing drought conditions, despite recent rain. While any heavy storms can lead to flooding, they may also prove beneficial in a region that's still in dire need of rain," said Johnson-Levine.
Throughout meteorological spring, cities such as Wichita, Kansas, observed lower-than-typical rainfall values. From March 1 to May 31, the airport only observed 3.86 inches of rain, compared to the historical average of 10.57 inches of rain typical for spring. At only 37% of its typical rainfall in the months leading up to summer, dry conditions have put a damper on regional agriculture around the city and the planting of summertime crops.
As this week kicks off, the jet stream will continue to bulge northward into south-central Canada, and moisture will once again be ushered northward from the Gulf waters. Daily thunderstorms will persist across portions of the Central states as heat builds throughout the northern Plains.
As heat builds across the north-central region in the upcoming days, locations across western Texas will notice a brief cooldown on Sunday and Monday. Daytime highs in Lubbock and Amarillo, Texas, will lower a few degrees to the lower to middle 70s Fahrenheit on Sunday and Monday before ramping back up to near 80 F by midweek.
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