Thunderstorm Wind in Smith County, Texas

Trees and power lines were downed over Eastern Smith County.

A weak upper level trough drifted southeast into Eastern Oklahoma, North and West-Central Texas on July 12th, where it encountered a hot, humid, and very unstable air mass as temperatures climbed into the mid 90s over much of the Four State Region. While the wind shear remained weak during the day, ample instability contributed to rapid scattered shower and thunderstorm development during the afternoon over portions of East Texas and Southeast Oklahoma. Some of these storms became severe during the late afternoon hours, producing damaging winds which downed trees across various areas of East Texas, before gradually weakening during the evening with the loss of heating.