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BRYAN, Texas (KBTX) - It’s a spring staple for the state of Texas, responsible for sparking some of the strongest storms we see all year long, it’s an atmospheric boundary we call the dryline. But what exactly is a dryline?

A dryline is similar to a warm or cold front, but rather than dividing air masses of different temperatures, the dryline separates air masses of different moisture levels. Texas’ centralized position between the dry, hot air from the deserts of the Southwest and the warm, humid air from the Gulf of Mexico makes it the perfect place for dryline development. For the same reasons, drylines also frequently form in places like Oklahoma and Kansas.

Storm Ingredients: Moisture, Lift, and Instability(kbtx)

When an area of low pressure moves across the region, it forces the dry and humid air masses to meet. This brings together the key ingredients needed for thunderstorm development.

Moisture - provided by southeasterly winds blowing in from the Gulf of Mexico.
Lift - occurs when opposing winds from the east and west collide along the boundary and are forced to move upward.
Instability - the atmosphere becomes unstable as dry air out west overruns the moist air from the east.

Dryline-driven storms are capable of producing all severe hazards; damaging winds, large hail, and tornadoes. And as we move into the later spring months, the dryline typically starts to shift further to the east, ramping up the potential for the Brazos Valley to see severe weather. Strong-to-severe thunderstorms often develop right along, or just ahead of the dryline, especially when it begins moving eastward toward the moist airmass. When the dryline passes all the way through an area, humidity will drop, skies will clear, and the wind will shift from south/southeasterly to west/southwesterly. These changes can occur in reverse order when the dryline retreats back to the west.