In This Month: April Showers Bring May Flowers

When it comes to weather, North Texas has it all – tornadoes, 100-degree heat, thunderstorms, lengthy droughts and sometimes even snow. In our latest Waterways blog series, In This Month, we look to past weather events and trends, and analyze how the weather was dealt with, and if there’s anything that we’d do differently today, should the same type of event occur.

To kick off this series, we’re looking at the unpredictable weather that hits North Texas every April. While the winter storms are behind us, April tends to bring warmer weather, accompanied by hail, heavy rain and strong winds. But what causes these spring showers? The short answer is the jet stream in the Northern Hemisphere.

The longer answer? Fast flowing, narrow air currents in the atmosphere start to move northwards in spring, allowing large depressions to bring strong winds and rain in from the Atlantic. In one day, the weather can change from springtime sunshine to stormy skies with hail. In addition to the jet streams, Texas has the Rocky Mountains to the west and the Appalachian Mountains to the east, creating a pseudo-funnel with Texas at the bottom.

With April weather continuing to change on a dime, it’s important that Texans are well prepared to handle the variety of weather forecasts. Most cities utilize a variety of storm monitoring methods to prevent damage and ensure communities are protected. Below are a few of the best practices Valley Ranch utilizes to stay on top of rapid weather changes:

• Canals and waterways help prevent flooding across Valley Ranch by channeling all excess water back towards the Elm Fork of the Trinity River.
• Two emergency generators were installed at IFCD 3’s pump station nearly one decade ago, to ensure that if the city goes dark, the pump station can stay on to continue pumping excess flood water away from Valley Ranch.
• Tornado sirens are installed throughout the city of Irving to ensure that residents are alerted when they need to go inside and seek shelter from a potential tornado.
  • Remember, a tornado watch means that the formation of tornadoes is possible. Watch the local news channels for additional information. Irving’s sirens will sound when a tornado watch has escalated to a tornado warning, meaning that a tornado has been sighted by storm spotters or detected by radar and you should seek shelter immediately.
    • If you hear tornado sirens, move to an interior room or hallway on the lowest floor of your home or office space and stay away from windows.
• The Weather Channel App should be installed on every Valley Ranch resident’s smart phone, as the app will provide minute-by-minute updates on severe weather.

For more Irving-specific information about severe weather that can flare up in the spring time, visit the City of Irving’s website to learn about how to prepare.

For up-to-date information about Valley Ranch severe weather, follow IFCD 3 on Facebook and Twitter!