Tennis Ball Hail Tornadoes and 80 MPH Gusts Targeting Texas Panhandle Northwest Texas and Oklahoma Including Amarillo Lubbock and Childress Today Into Tonight

TEXAS PANHANDLE — A severe weather risk will develop late this afternoon into the evening across the Texas Panhandle, northwest Texas, and into southwest Oklahoma, with warm humid air combined with strong daytime heating creating an unstable atmosphere capable of supporting supercells producing tennis ball sized hail, a tornado or two, and wind gusts up to 80 MPH across the core threat zone covering Amarillo, Lubbock, Childress, and surrounding communities.

Storms are expected to develop by late afternoon as supercells before organizing into clusters or a line moving east through the evening hours.

Core Yellow Zone Facing Tennis Ball Hail Tornadoes and 80 MPH Gusts This Afternoon

The core yellow threat zone covering Amarillo, Lubbock, Memphis, Childress, Plainview, Hereford, and surrounding northwest Texas communities faces the most dangerous combination of hazards today, with tennis ball sized hail, a tornado or two, and wind gusts reaching up to 80 MPH all possible during the initial supercell phase this afternoon.

Initial supercell development carries the greatest tornado and large hail threat, with the extreme hail size of tennis ball diameter capable of causing catastrophic vehicle and property damage across any community directly under a storm track this afternoon and evening.

Storms Organizing Into Line Through Evening Shifting Risk to 70 MPH Winds and Spin Ups

As storms increase in coverage through the evening hours they are expected to organize into clusters or a line moving eastward, shifting the primary hazard from tornadoes and large hail toward damaging wind gusts of 70 to 80 MPH and the possibility of brief weak spin-ups embedded within the line.

The broader brown surrounding zone covering southwest Oklahoma, Woodward, Lawton, Wichita Falls, and Fort Worth faces coin sized hail and 70 MPH gusts as the organized storm complex pushes eastward through the overnight hours.

The severe threat will gradually lessen overnight as storms weaken and continue moving east, but residents across all outlined zones should treat today and tonight as a high-priority severe weather awareness period. Stay with GordonRamsayClub.com for the latest updates.