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Another day of severe weather for truckers in Plains

Thursday threat stretches from Texas to Illinois

(Photo: Jim Allen/FreightWaves)

After numerous severe storms broke out Wednesday across the Plains, truckers across the region will have to dodge dicey weather again Thursday.

The National Weather Service received 28 tornado reports Wednesday in Texas, Kansas and Nebraska combined, as well as dozens of reports of large hail and straight-line wind damage. Softball-size hail fell in Hays, Kansas, while a wind gust of 85 mph blasted Amherst, Texas (near Lubbock).

The overall risk for severe weather stretches from Texas to the middle Mississippi Valley.

More specifically, this includes Dallas-Fort Worth, Midland-Odessa, Lubbock, Amarillo, Abilene and Wichita Falls, Texas; Oklahoma City and Tulsa, Oklahoma; Topeka and Wichita, Kansas; Kansas City, Jefferson City, Springfield and St. Louis, Missouri; Peoria, Illinois; as well as Little Rock, Jonesboro and Fort Smith, Arkansas.


Drivers won’t hit severe severe storms in every location, but large hail and strong gusts will be scattered to numerous throughout the target zone. Localized tornadoes and flash flooding will develop too.

Severe weather will be much more scarce Friday. However, as truckers try to get home for the Memorial Day weekend, they will hit showers and thunderstorms from the southern Plains to the Southeast, Ohio Valley, mid-Atlantic and Northeast. Some storms may linger Saturday and Sunday along the East and Gulf coasts.

Click here for more FreightWaves articles by Nick Austin.

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Nick Austin

Nick is a meteorologist with 20 years of forecasting and broadcasting experience. He was nominated for a Midsouth Emmy for his coverage during a 2008 western Tennessee tornado outbreak. He received his Bachelor of Science in Meteorology from Florida State University, as well as a Bachelor of Science in Management from the Georgia Tech. Nick is a member of the American Meteorological Society and National Weather Association. As a member of the weather team at WBBJ-TV in Jackson, Tennessee, Nick was nominated for a Mid-South Emmy for live coverage of a major tornado outbreak in February 2008. As part of the weather team at WRCB-TV in Chattanooga, Tennessee, Nick shared the Chattanooga Times-Free Press Best of the Best award for “Best Weather Team” eight consecutive years.