National Weather Service United States Department of Commerce

Extreme Fire Weather Concerns; Severe Thunderstorms from the Plains to Mississippi Valley

Extremely critical fire weather concerns for portions of the southern High Plans as strong wind and very dry conditions could result in rapid spread of any fires. Meanwhile, severe thunderstorms are expected once again across areas of the Central and Southern Plains, then spreading in the Mississippi Valley regions on Monday. Damaging winds, very large hail and strong tornadoes are possible. Read More >

Fig. 15. The combined infrared satellite imagery and regional radar reflectivity mosaic from 2300 UTC 16 July to 0200 UTC 17 July 2003 shows Claudette as it became increasingly disorganized over far southwest Texas. Satellite imagery suggests that the middle and upper level cloud structure became less symmetrical with time as the system weakened and dry air began to entrain into the circulation from the south. Plots of the regional surface observations reveal that Claudette’s low level circulation was becoming displaced from the circulation aloft as it began rapidly moving west-northwest into northern Mexico. In addition, thunderstorms can be seen initiating over the Serranias del Burro Mountains in northern Coahuila, Mexico. This convection trained north over Terrell County, and resulted in heavy rainfall and flash flooding.