Large hail, more rain and cold temperatures in forecast for North Texas
Chances are real good that North Texans will need rain boots and jackets for the next few days.
A strong cold front arrived Sunday bringing with it some possibly severe thunderstorms with large hail, damaging winds and more rainfall to neighborhoods that are already soaked from recent storms.
A flash flood watch is in effect from 1 a.m. Monday to 7 a.m. Tuesday, including in Tarrant County. Rainfall amounts could total 4 to 6 inches with isolated 7 inches possible.
The threat of severe storms comes just after strong thunderstorms hit North Texas and produced tornadoes in Ellis, Hill, Freestone and Navarro counties on Saturday.
The first tornado was reported at 1:07 p.m. Saturday in Ellis County, downing trees, flipping cars and damaging property throughout the area. At Waxahachie High School, light poles snapped in half, and fencing around the football field was knocked over.
At 1:20 p.m., 2:06 p.m. and 3:15 p.m., other tornadoes touched down in Hill, Navarro and Freestone Counties, respectively.
Two teams from the National Weather Service office in Fort Worth were out on Sunday in Ellis, Hill and Freestone counties to survey the damage.
They later confirmed that EF-0 tornadoes touched down in Waxahachie, Brady and in Hill County west of Interstate 35 north of Pattons Mill Road.
An EF-1 tornado developed to the northwest and caused extensive damage to homes, the weather service said.
Reports from the National Weather Service also say tornadoes possibly touched down in McCulloch, Navarro, Freestone and Rusk counties between 2 and 10 p.m. Those reports are still preliminary and not confirmed.
The chance of inclement weather on Sunday caused the State Fair of Texas to move up the Hunter Hayes concert. The singer was to perform on the Chevrolet Main Stage from 5 to 6:15 p.m.
The rain will linger until at least Tuesday night.
In October, a normal rainfall total is just over 4 inches at Dallas/Fort Worth Airport, the official reporting station for the National Weather Service office in Fort Worth. As of Sunday, the airport had already recorded 6.03 inches of rain.
And if all that moisture wasn’t enough, colder temperatures also arrived with the front.
“You will need an umbrella and to bundle up on Monday morning,” meteorologist Bianca Villanueva said Sunday in a telephone interview. Villanueva is with the weather service office in Fort Worth.
North Texans will wake up Monday morning to a low of 41, and it won’t get much warmer. Forecasters say the high on Monday should only reach 46 degrees.
And yes, north winds gusting at 15 to 20 mph will make it feel like 38 to 39 degrees on Monday in Tarrant County, according to the weather service office in Fort Worth.
In counties to the west of Fort Worth, forecasters say the temperature could be as low as 39 degrees and the wind chill will make it feel like it’s freezing.
It will be colder in some areas of the Texas Panhandle and South Plains where a freeze watch will go into effect from 7 p.m. Sunday until 10 a.m. Monday. Temperatures are expected to be between 25 and 32 degrees.
In those same Texas areas, forecasters say there could be a light freezing rain and snow mixture.
Staff writer Nichole Manna contributed to this report.
This story was originally published October 14, 2018 at 9:32 AM with the headline "Large hail, more rain and cold temperatures in forecast for North Texas."