Thunderstorm Wind in Red River Parish, Louisiana

Large limbs downed near the intersection of Highway 514 and Highway 783 west of Hall Summit.

A cluster of strong to severe thunderstorms developed on June 1st and advanced east southeastward from North Texas into the Ark-La-Tex during the afternoon and evening hours. These thunderstorms occurred along a sharpening instability gradient, aided by a mesoscale convective vortex (MCV). Modest west to northwesterly mid-level flow provided sufficient effective shear for storm organization, with a threat for supercells within the larger storm cluster. Relatively modest mid-level lapse rates were sufficient for large hail production while damaging wind gusts were the primary threat as strong upscale growth of thunderstorms occurred during peak heating hours. As a result, several damaging wind reports were recorded across Northwest Louisiana during the afternoon and early evening hours.