A tornado watch is in effect for several Texas counties Saturday as storms are expected to impact large swaths of the Lone Star State.
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Several Texas counties are in under a tornado watch Saturday, as severe weather is expected to impact areas of the Lone Star State. The National Weather Service issued the watch Saturday morning for portions of deep East Texas, Northwest Louisiana and Southern Arkansas. Texas counties under the watch include Angelina, Nacogdoches, Panola, Sabine, San Augustine and Shelby.
“South of I-20, storms are more clustered with damaging winds and embedded tornadoes possible within the line as well as the thunderstorm clusters farther south,” wrote the NWS Saturday morning in its forecaster’s discussion. “Thus far, large hail has not really been a major concern but still cannot rule that out as we continue to heat up this afternoon east of I-49 as the cold front advances deeper into the region.”
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The NWS said there could be damaging wind gusts of 60 mph or more Saturday, along with possibly baseball-sized hail. The tornado watch is in effect until 7 p.m.
Meanwhile, a flood watch is in effect through Saturday night for much of far Northeast Texas, including the Clarksville and Texarkana areas. The NWS said rainfall of between 1 and 3 inches with isolated higher amounts could impact the region. Low-lying areas, rivers and creeks, and roads could all be affected.
The Houston area could see some impact from the line of storms moving into East and Southeast Texas. Along with a cold front, the storms are expected to reach the area around late Saturday afternoon. Much of Harris County is under a slight risk of severe storms, but northeast areas of the county and beyond are under an enhanced risk. Damaging winds and large hail are possible, along with isolated tornadoes.
“This kind of environment … is capable of producing significant hail as well, which is 2″ diameter or greater,” wrote the NWS Saturday morning.
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Temperatures will drop Saturday evening into the low 50s, and the high Sunday will only hover around 60. A cool night Sunday awaits, with temperatures around 45.
