Flash Flood in Gregg County, Texas

The low-lying areas of the Burger King parking lot and surrounding areas along Village Drive just off of West Loop 281 were flooded.

Despite considerable cloud cover across East Texas ahead of a cold front, relatively modest surface heating was ongoing by late morning on April 4th. A very moist air mass characterized by dew points in the upper 60s to lower 70s preceded the front. This environment supported scattered thunderstorm development along and ahead of the cold front, further aided by being on the southern fringe of the stronger mid-level winds helping propel the front. Additionally, MLCAPE values increasing to 1500+ J/kg and 25-35 knots of effective shear supported marginally organized storms capable of wind damage, flash flooding, and isolated tornadoes. However, poor mid-level lapse rates and a linear mode limited hail potential. As a result, one severe thunderstorm with quasi-supercell structure produced a brief tornado near Lindale in Smith County while a separate cluster of thunderstorms led to isolated flash flooding in Longview in Gregg County.