First Alert Weather Day on Tuesday as strong storms are expected in the early morning hours
A tornado watch has been issued for parts of North Texas until 5 a.m. Tuesday.
Affected counties include Cooke, Eastland, Jack, Montague, Palo Pinto, Stephens and Young. It includes the cities of Bowie, Breckenridge, Cisco, Eastland, Gainesville, Gorman, Graham, Jacksboro, Mineral Wells, Nocona, Olney, and Ranger.
You'll hear those winds picking up overnight, gusts will easily get over 40 mph. Damaging winds are the greatest concern when these storms hit. Quick spin-up tornadoes could form along the leading edge of the storms as they sweep over the metroplex in the morning.
The metroplex is under either an enhanced or slight risk of severe weather later Monday night.
The risk is higher in our eastern counties Tuesday as the storms move west to east through the morning.
The severe threat begins in the early morning hours in our western counties. Strong, gusty winds will already be going on across all of North Texas ahead of these storms.
From 4 a.m. to 6 a.m., the storms will be moving into the metroplex, first into Tarrant, then into Dallas counties.
We'll watch for supercells ahead or along the line, they could produce large hail. The tornado threat will be along the leading edge of these fast-moving storms. If you are an early-morning commuter, you might have to delay leaving the house until the storms pass.
The way the atmosphere is set-up, the tornado threat is higher than you would expect for early-season storms that arrive in the early morning hours. The risk is higher as the morning goes on, threatening our eastern counties.
Winds will be strong before, around and after the storms. Across the afternoon, we could get gusts that hit 50 mph.
The wind advisory starts at 11 p.m. Monday night and runs into late evening Tuesday. Expect to see some dust Tuesday afternoon coming in from the west.
The high winds and low humidity will elevate the fire risk. Please, no fire starts Tuesday.
North Texas has some cooler weather ahead. By Wednesday, we barely get into the 60s for a high. Thursday morning, we'll start the day in the 30s. Another front arrives going into the weekend; it drops temperatures and gives us a small chance for rain.