Storms may bring hail and damaging winds, but should reduce wildfire haze in Fort Worth
Storms are expected in the Dallas-Fort Worth area late Tuesday night and early Wednesday morning, which should help alleviate the smoky haze that has moved into North Texas from wildfires to the south, but could bring new risks of severe weather, according to the National Weather Service.
Throughout Tuesday, storms will develop to the west of Fort Worth and start moving toward DFW, said Juan Hernandez, a meteorologist with the Fort Worth office of the National Weather Service. The storm front should reach Fort Worth at about midnight on Tuesday.
Some storms could be severe and may bring damaging winds and hail, and the threat of tornadoes cannot be ruled out in the forecast.
The line of storms should move swiftly and rainfall should stop by around sunrise on Wednesday, Hernandez said. Up to an inch of rain is expected.
[More: How to stay safe during tornadoes, floods and other severe weather]
After surveys, the weather service confirmed 16 tornadoes from storms that hit North and Central Texas on March 21, including those that caused damage in the areas of River Oaks, Benbrook and Euless in Tarrant County as well as Jacksboro and Montague County.
After highs in the 80s on Monday and Tuesday, the temperatures Wednesday will be slightly cooler, with a high in the 70s. Sunday’s high of 94 was two degrees shy of a record and the earliest 90-degree day since March 20, 2017, according to the weather service.
Over the weekend and on Monday, smoke from the Crittenburg Complex wildfires about 30 miles north of Austin near Killeen filled the air in North Texas. The smoke was carried on wind blowing from the south and caused breathing problems for some in Tarrant County, according to MedStar, which reported responding to 87 such calls as of Monday morning.
Tuesday night’s storms should shift the wind and cause it to blow from east to west instead, which should help alleviate the haze in North Texas.
This story was originally published March 28, 2022 at 12:29 PM.
