Hail — Rusk, Texas

2025-03-30 · near New Salem, Rusk, Texas

Event narrative

Quarter size hail reported at the New Salem Volunteer Fire Department just east of Lake Striker.

Wider weather episode

Surface analysis indicated a cold front moving across North Central Texas in the afternoon on March 30th, with a very moist airmass located ahead of the front over much of East Texas. Surface dew points within this moist air mass were in the upper 60s and lower 70s. Very strong instability was clearly evident, with MLCAPE around 3000 J/kg. In addition, a subtle shortwave trough was observed moving into Central Texas. Ahead of this feature, large-scale ascent increased across East Texas, aiding convective initiation. Additionally, 0-6 km shear of 45 to 50 knots and 700-500 mb lapse rates of 8 to 8.5 C/km suggested that large hail was likely with supercell development. As a result, several reports of large hail were documented across East Texas during the afternoon and evening on March 30th.

View location on OpenStreetMap → (31.9400, -94.9600)

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 1249646. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.