A day of wild weather and thunderstorms in Texas has led to nearly 500 canceled flights in the Dallas area, power outages across eastern reaches and a wildfire in a landfill near Amarillo that’s been dubbed the “Stinky Fire.”
As of 4:20 p.m. local time, about 490 flights in and outbound of Dallas Fort Worth International Airport and Dallas Love Field were canceled, according to data from FlightAware, an airline tracking service. Meanwhile, more than 30,000 homes and businesses were without power in the state, according to PowerOutage.com.
A long line of unsettled weather from Michigan to Mexico was rattling the continent and spinning up thunderstorms dropping as much as 2 inches (5 centimeters) of rain per hour across Texas, said Rich Bann, a forecaster at the US Weather Prediction Center.
Texas will see some of the biggest impacts “given how unstable the atmosphere is with a front to focus it,” Bann said.
Preparing for Emergency
With more storms in the forecast, Texas Governor Greg Abbott directed the Texas Division of Emergency Management to increase the readiness level of the states emergency operations center to level II. The extreme weather is expected to bring flood, hail, wind and tornado risks, risking damage to homes, businesses and electric equipment.
Severe thunder storms across the US caused $46 billion in insured losses in 2025, making it the third-costliest year on record in North America, according to Swiss Re.
Severe thunderstorm warnings are up across southwest Texas and flash flood warning covers Fort Worth and vicinity, with the possibility of 4.5 inches of rain falling through 6 p.m., the National Weather Service said.
Meanwhile, Xcel Energy crews were working to restore power to customers affected by the Stinky Fire northwest of Amarillo, the company said in a statement. The blaze is 30% contained and has charred about 2,570 acres, according to Texas A & M Forest Service.
Photo: Firefighters work to contain a brush fire that has spread to outlying areas west of Amarillo due to high winds and dry conditions on May 18, 2026, in Amarillo, Texas.
Copyright 2026 Bloomberg.
Topics
Texas
Flood
Aviation
Windstorm
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