5:00 p.m. Discussion

From Chief Meteorologist Craig Carnesi...

More of the same across the Big Country over the next 24 hours.

The big change for tonight will be a hard freeze areawide, which we have not seen in quite awhile. Remember to bring the pets indoors tonight. Also, remember to use extra caution with space heaters. If at all possible, throw an extra blanket on the bed instead of using a space heater.

Winds will remain calm tonight and only run 5 to 10 miles per hour Friday. By Saturday, winds will get back into the windy catagory running 15 to 25 miles per hour.

The National Weather Service has already Fire Weather Watches for all of our viewing area for Saturday. These watches will likely be upgraded to Red Flag Warnings tomorrow.

Sunday will remain windy as well, as winds come around to a more Westerly direction as opposed to the Southwesterly direction expected Saturday. The other big concern on Sunday will be the timing of a cold front arriving with any fires that could be burning. Winds will quickly shift from the West to the North sometime Sunday. As this happens, if any fires are burning, this could seriously hurt fire fighters while battling fires.

We will have a much better handle on the timing of the wind shift as we get into the weekend.