Severe weather threat in North Texas: 5 things to know

The end of April and early May are historically the peak of severe weather season and this week may hold to form.

North Texas is expected to see several rounds of storms this week, starting late Tuesday afternoon.

There will be more threats later in the week that could cause more problems for already rain-swollen lakes and rivers.

Here are five things you need to know:

1. What are the greatest threats for Tuesday?

“There’s a possibility of large hail, wind and and some tornadoes on Tuesday,” said National Weather Service meteorologist Juan Hernandez. “We could see an inch fall pretty quickly.”

The storms are expected to develop west of Interstate 35W Tuesday afternoon and move eastward throughout the evening.

The Storm Prediction Center forecasts a “moderate risk” across North Texas, the fourth-most serious category.

2. How are lake levels? Is more flooding in store?

All lakes in North Texas are full and some can’t take any more runoff without some homes being flooded.

Lake Bridgeport reached 840.92 feet five days ago on April 21, the reservoir’s second-highest level. That caused five homes to flood but could be a warmup act for more serious flooding later this week along the West Fork of the Trinity River.

“My guess is if we get the rainfall that’s forecast, all of the lakes along the West Fork — Lake Bridgeport, Eagle Mountain, Lake Worth and the river in between are going to have issues,” said David Marshall, director of engineering and operations support for the Tarrant Regional Water District.

Both Eagle Mountain and Lake Bridgeport, which are owned by TRWD, can hold back floodwaters but at a certain point water will start flooding homes around the lakes. Lake Worth is owned by the City of Fort Worth.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineer lakes are also holding back flooding waters. Lake Benbrook is the highest at nearly 8 feet into its flood pool. It can climb another 8 feet before water would start going over its spillway. Lake Grapevine has been holding floodwaters for most of the last year and is now more than 8 feet above its conservation level. It can climb another 25 feet before water would go over its spillway.

3. What’s the forecast for Mayfest?

The annual festival along the banks of the Trinity River in Fort Worth runs Thursday through Sunday and the first and last days appear to be the best bets for attending.

There’s a 60 percent chance of thunderstorms on Friday, dropping to 40 percent on Saturday.

“It looks like Thursday will be our break day and, right now, it looks like the second round of storms should move out by Sunday,” Hernandez said.

The storms should mostly produce rain, not hail.

4. What’s the latest on hail damage in North Texas?

It’s been a rough year already in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, with three separate hailstorms causing an estimated $1.6 billion in insured losses, according to Mark Hanna, a spokesman for the Insurance Council of Texas, an industry trade group.

The worst single hailstorm of the season came in San Antonio on April 12, when more than 110,000 vehicles and thousands of homes were pounded, causing an estimated $1.36 billion in damage.

5. What if my already-damaged car or roof gets hit by hail again?

“Each weather event is an individual claim but every claim is different,” Hanna said. “It just really depends on the circumstances. Has the claim already been paid? Have the repairs already been done? Has the insurance adjuster already been to the home or seen the car? Sometimes, there’s leeway but companies are going to look at that on an individual basis.”

In a nutshell: If you’ve already received a check for hail damage on your car or roof, you’ll likely have to pay another deductible for any additional hail damage, regardless if any repair work has been done.

Best bet: Talk with your insurance agent.

This story was originally published April 25, 2016 at 1:04 PM with the headline "Severe weather threat in North Texas: 5 things to know."