Hail in Smith County, Texas

Hail ranging from pea to quarter size covered the ground on the south side of Tyler.

Scattered strong to severe thunderstorms, initially elevated, developed by late morning on April 18th as a cold front rapidly undercut a moist and unstable air mass across East Texas. Mid-level lapse rates averaged near 8 degrees C/km while effective deep-layer shear was on the order of 50-60 knots. Although the risk for large hail was generally the the primary hazard with the most intense thunderstorms, a localized risk for severe wind gusts also accompanied the strongest thunderstorm cores. As a result, numerous reports were documented with large hail across parts of East Texas while a few isolated reports of damaging wind gusts were also noted later in the event as surface-based thunderstorms began to evolve within a more linear convective mode.