Cold Air Is Moving

From Chief Meteorologist Craig Carnesi...

Big changes are still ahead in your forecast. One more warm and windy day lies ahead before the changes though.

Thursday afternoon winds will run anywhere from 10 to 30 miles per across the Big Country as the pressure gradient tightens up ahead of our BIG cold front.

The front will begin to push through the area late in the afternoon and should clear IH-20 by 7:00 or 8:00 p.m. The front will arrive dry, but set the stage for precipitation chances beginning Friday night.

Friday's high temperatures will struggle to reach the middle 30s. Winds will remain blustery throughout the day with wind chill readings at or below freezing all day.

Friday night, moisture looks to begin overrunning the cold air. It will take a little while to moisten up the lower levels of the atmosphere. I expect the best chances for precipitation will come Friday night through early Sunday.

Now, the big question is, what will the precipitation be? Frozen, liquid, both?

Right now it looks like we will mostly see freezing drizzle or rain across the viewing area. There will be a chance for snow and sleet, mainly in the Northern viewing area, but I just don't think the cold airmass will be deep enough to support an all-freezing precipitation event.

Either way, it will be cold, and there is a chance of some ice slickened roads beginning Friday night and Saturday night. Even with the chance, I do not think we will see widespread travel problems this weekend across the area. As always, stay tuned for the latest forecast information.