Heavy thunderstorms expected this evening

Published 6:47 pm Wednesday, August 19, 2015

East Texans are bracing for some much needed rain.

With that rain comes the possibility of heavy thunderstorms. The most severe thunderstorms are expected to roll into the souther portion of Tyler by about 11 p.m. Whitehouse south to Rusk and Palestine are expected to see the most rain and strongest winds. The rain is expected to continue through Thursday morning.

KYTX Meteorologist Doc Deason said residents should expect some damage if the storm is still producing winds in excess of 40 miles per hour when it hits.

Reports of scattered outages north of Interstate 20 were reported around 4 p.m., but the Upshur Rural Electric Co-op had most residents’ power back on within a few hours.

“We have the possibility of severe weather in the forecast,” Aaron Stevens with the National Weather Service’s Shreveport office said. “There’s nothing indicating severe storms, but there is a good line coming down through the Ark-La-Tex area.”

Stevens said he was part of a team that inspected storm damage from the Aug. 11 downpour. While the Shreveport office doesn’t expect this week’s weather to come in a severe burst, Stevens said residents should be prepared for potential damage due to the recent heat and dry conditions.

“Anytime you’ve got storms, you can have downbursts like you had in Smith County the other day,” Stevens said. “With all the drought we’ve had, it’s pretty easy to blow trees down.”

On Wednesday afternoon, Tyler Police Department also issued a traffic advisory, asking drivers to slow down and maintain safe distances between other vehicles.

Forecast models indicate the possibility of a brief break in the rain Thursday afternoon, but the rain is expected to continue through Friday, with the possibility of more rain during the weekend before more storms roll in Monday and Tuesday.

Twitter: @TMT_Cory