Good Tuesday morning,
Lubbock will finally have a day without strong westerly winds! Southwesterly winds will only be sustained between 10-20 mph, with gusts to 25 mph by early afternoon. While these winds are certainly elevated, they are nothing compared to the 40+ mph gusts the South Plains has been experiencing the past few days. Skies will be mostly sunny, allowing temperatures to warm into the mid 60’s for a high after a Tuesday morning low of around 30°. Winds will relax even further Tuesday evening, allowing temperatures to again plummet to near 30°, under clear skies by day-break Wednesday.
As mentioned in previous forecasts, Wednesday will likely feature another high wind event across the entire area. On Monday afternoon the National Weather Service issued a ‘High Wind Watch’ for Wednesday; meaning that conditions will be favorable for sustained winds over 40 mph and gusts exceeding 58 mph for at-least one hour of time. This watch will likely be upgraded to a ‘High Wind Warning’ sometime Tuesday evening or Wednesday morning. These very strong winds will present several hazards across the region. Blowing dust will likely be the most noticeable; with visibility lower than 3 miles possible during the height of this windstorm. However, strong crosswinds on north-to-south and southwest-to-northeast oriented roads will make driving hazardous, especially if driving large vehicles. Lastly, strong wind gusts and low humidity values present on Wednesday afternoon will elevate wildfire potential across the area. If at all possible, do not have open flames outdoors. The image below shows all the counties in Texas which are currently under burn bans, if the county is shaded is shaded in red; it is illegal to have open flames outdoors.
Christmas Outlook:
Forecast models continue to come into general agreement that a storm system will move across the Southern Plains between 12/24 and 12/27. However, the exact track of this system is still unknown, and forecasters likely wont have a better handle on this evolving weather pattern until Friday 12/21. Though a general trend towards a stormier weather pattern across the Southern Plains starting around Christmas, is becoming more probable. How cold it will get and whether or not Lubbock will see snow are questions which still cannot be answered with any certainty. Stay Tuned!
Wreck ‘Em,
Cutter Martin (KTXT Weather)
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