ASAN (KXAN) – Many Austin saw an explosion of stormy winds and heavy rains on Sunday afternoon, leaving many residents wondering why the storm suddenly arrived.
According to KXAN, Nick Banin, the storm that has already struck the Central Texas from a group of thunderstorms that were formed early Sunday morning in Oklahoma and northern Texas. These storms produced heavy rains and frequent lightning – which helps to launch what is known as the external flow limits.
“The rain is one of the thunderstorms of the air around the thunderstorm, and the boundaries of the flowing air in the south,” explained by Banin.
So, exactly what are the limits of the external flow, and how it affected the weather on Sunday in the center of Texas?
Banin said that the limits of the external flow behave like the “small cold front”. While moving to unstable air areas, they can lead to new thunderstorms.
While the original storms were formed hours ago in Oklahoma and North Texas, they have maintained enough energy to reach the center of Texas-partially due to the direction of the upper-level wind. Banin said that the flow from north to south in the upper atmosphere has strengthened the speed and direction of the cold winds, which helps the borders to reach strongly.
His timing also matters. The storm arrived in Austin during the warmer part of the afternoon, when sufficient heating occurred to destabilize the atmosphere – allowing the storm to survive, but also grow.
The possibility of rain began to look like on Sunday morning, so the first weather team increased our warning of the chances of rain, but so that the storm’s ability to adhere to a long distance is still impressive.