RSS Mesoscale Discussions from Storm Prediction Center
SPC 1300Z Day 1 Outlook
Day 1 Convective Outlook
NWS Storm Prediction Center Norman OK
0731 AM CDT Fri May 01 2026
Valid 011300Z - 021200Z
...THERE IS A MARGINAL RISK OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS FROM THE TEXAS
HILL COUNTRY INTO THE UPPER TEXAS COAST...AND ACROSS THE CENTRAL
GULF COAST INTO THE FLORIDA PANHANDLE...
...SUMMARY...
Thunderstorms with isolated severe wind gusts and hail will be
possible today across parts of south-central and southeast Texas,
and this evening into tonight along the central Gulf Coast.
...Synopsis and Discussion...
Early morning satellite imagery shows several shortwave troughs,
including one within the southern stream over northern Mexico and
another moving into Ohio Valley within the base of a large cyclone
centered over the northern Ontario/Quebec border vicinity. Recent
surface analysis places a weak front from Deep South Texas
northeastward through the western Gulf and central Plaquemines
Parish, continuing through the north-central Gulf and across
northern Florida. Numerous showers and thunderstorms are currently
ongoing north of the front and downstream of the northern Mexico
shortwave from the Texas Hill County eastward to the Upper Texas
Coast.
Thermodynamic conditions across these region are expected to remain
largely unchanged throughout much of the day, with modest elevated
instability persisting amid the moist southwesterly mid-level flow.
Some modest increase in the mid-level flow is anticipated as the
shortwave trough continues eastward through TX and into the Lower
Mississippi Valley. An attendant increase in large-scale ascent is
expected as well. Resulting increase in the deep-layer shear could
result in slightly more organized storm structures and greater
overall storm intensity this afternoon despite numerous preceding
showers and thunderstorms, and little change in the overall
thermodynamics. Large hail and damaging gusts are the primary risks
with the strongest storms.
A surface low is expected to develop ahead of the shortwave trough
over the western Gulf, before then tracking quickly northeastward as
the shortwave continues eastward. This low will likely be just off
the Deep South Texas Coast by 00Z Saturday, and off of southern
Plaquemines Parish by 06Z. Elevated thunderstorms are expected
across the Lower MS Valley amid a combination of warm-air advection
and large-scale ascent ahead of the shortwave. The strongest storms
may be capable of producing small hail. The surface low may also
track far enough north for the warm sector to advect into the
near-coastal regions of southeast Louisiana, far southern
Mississippi, southern Alabama and the western/central Florida
Panhandle. If this occurs, surface-based storms could develop,
enhancing the potential for damaging gusts as well as introducing a
low-probability tornado risk.
..Mosier/Dean.. 05/01/2026
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