Hail in Franklin County, Texas

Quarter size hail reported on FM Road 1448 near downtown Winnsboro.

Surface analysis identified a cold front advancing into the Ark-La-Tex region early in the afternoon on May 22nd. Weak surface troughing preceded the cold front, noted by a wind shift from southerly to the south of the boundary to northerly to the north of it. This troughing was influential in the intensification of thunderstorms moving into parts of East and Northeast Texas through the evening hours. The air mass ahead of the boundary was characterized by ample low-level moisture and very strong buoyancy. MLCAPE was over 3000 J/kg across the entire region, and vertical shear was quite strong with bulk shear values in the 50 to 60 knot range. Although some minimal convective inhibition remained early on, it eroded quickly with robust thunderstorm development along and ahead of these boundaries. Initially, a more cellular mode favored large hail as the primary risk and given that discrete supercells were possible, some tornado potential existed as well. Over time, interactions between these storms and their cold pools resulted in upscale growth into one or more convective lines as damaging winds became the primary threat by early to mid evening with numerous severe weather reports received from late afternoon through the evening hours.