Wednesday Morning Update

From Meteorologist Brandon Rector...

It was another chilly start to the day across the Big Country. A few locations did drop below freezing. The temperature in Snyder fell to 28. In Brownwood, the temperature dropped all the way down to 19 because of calm winds early this morning. Everyone will be warm by this afternoon with highs in the upper 60s to low 70s. Windy conditions are expected due to a surface trough moving into the area. Winds will be from the southwest at 15 to 25 mph. With low relative humidity values likely as well, there is a Red Flag Warning in effect for the entire viewing area. We all need to continue to be very careful and follow the necessary precautions to prevent fires.

Tomorrow looks to be warm and breezy. Highs will be in the low to mid 70s with winds from the southwest at 10 to 20 mph. A Fire Weather Watch is already in effect for most of the Big Country for Thursday.

A cooling trend begins on Friday with the arrival of a cold front. Highs will be in the mid to upper 60s. No rain is expected with the front.

Temperatures this weekend should be at or slightly below average for this time of year. So, finally it looks like we might see some winter-like temperatures. We could also see some rain on Sunday. An upper level disturbance may be moving across the area. For now, I'm only going with a slight chance, but hopefully that will increase as we get closer to that time period.

On a side note, I looked at the almanac data for Abilene Regional Airport from the first official day of winter until yesterday. Our average high for December 21st through January 17th ranges from 54 to 56. During that time, we have only been in the 50s for a high a total of 4 times. Of those 4 times, we were at or below average only twice. Our coldest high so far was 54 on January 9th. Also, we have set 4 record highs and tied another one since winter started. Looking at these numbers, I think we can all agree that it has been a mild winter.

Have a wonderful Wednesday!