We now have an extremely rare Level 5 risk of severe weather for later today and tonight. That high risk is as high as the scale goes. An outbreak of tornadoes is increasingly likely across the eastern Texas Panhandle, West Texas, Northwest Texas, and into the Big Country. This will include the threat for EF2-EF5 tornadoes that track for long-distances. Giant hail and destructive straight-line winds are also expected. This is an extremely dangerous and life-threatening situation.

Storms are expected to increase in coverage early this morning across the Texas Panhandle into portions of West Texas. Some of those storms may be severe with a risk of large hail. The threat of tornadoes will not increase until the late morning or early afternoon hours with another round of storms.