Sunny and mild next few days, cooler late tomorrow

Connect with me on Facebook, Twitter and Google+

SUNNY TODAY: We finally saw some breaks in the clouds by late yesterday afternoon. I would've preferred a rainy day than a nice sunset but it is what we received. More on the rain and storms across Texas further below.

That storm system is now marching east, leaving the state and headed for the Gulf Coast and Deep South. Behind it we'll get a full day of sunshine, today's high in the upper 50s to lower 60s, N wind becoming SE 10-20mph. Sunset 6:12 p.m.



FRONT TOMORROW: We'll likely see a north-to-south temperature gradient by mid-afternoon tomorrow. A cold front is on the way. As is usually the case with fronts clearing our area during the day we'll warm nicely ahead of its passage with a gusty S/SW wind 12-20mph. Lubbock's high near 65. We'll likely reach the low 70s over the southern South Plains and Permian Basin while the high will be in the lower to mid 50s around Amarillo and the Panhandle.

The front will usher in a gusty north wind making it feel even cooler. Just a few clouds around by late tomorrow, mainly sunny for most of the day.

WEEKEND: Behind the front Saturday will be cooler with some clouds early in the day giving way to ample sunshine, high near 50. A return to a southerly wind will warm Sunday back to the upper 50s to lower 60s. Next week looks mild with mornings in the low to mid 30s and afternoons in the mid 60s, mostly sunny and breezy.

For now the next week appears dry. The more-reliable European model is now showing some precip late next week in the region but this is a newer trend in the guidance. We'll be watching for more consistency.



Texas storms

While we picked up only a trace of precipitation yesterday and 0.01" of rain in Lubbock the day before there were soaking rains of several inches across the state. Even just south of here some TTU Mesonet sites had good rain in the Concho Valley and even light showers over the southern South Plains:

 WALL                  0.93 IN 
 NORTHWEST SAN ANGELO  0.78 IN 
 SAINT LAWRENCE        0.67 IN 
 COYANOSA              0.62 IN 
 ASPERMONT             0.41 IN 
 HASKELL               0.40 IN 
 ANDREWS               0.37 IN 
 KNOX CITY             0.28 IN 
 SNYDER                0.26 IN 
 SEYMOUR               0.23 IN 
 JAYTON                0.20 IN 
 JUNCTION              0.08 IN 
 LAKE ALAN HENRY       0.08 IN 
 FLUVANNA              0.08 IN 
 LAMESA                0.07 IN 
 SEMINOLE              0.06 IN 
 GAIL                  0.05 IN 
 TAHOKA                0.04 IN 
 O'DONNELL             0.04 IN 
 PADUCAH               0.02 IN 
 GUTHRIE               0.02 IN 
 POST                  0.02 IN 
 ROARING SPRINGS       0.02 IN 
 CAPROCK CANYONS       0.01 IN 
 GRAHAM                0.01 IN 

Some selected totals elsewhere this week:
Dallas 4.50"
Austin 3.54"
San Antonio 3.13"
Houston 2.89"
Abilene 1.44"

This image from the Forth Worth office of the NWS shows heavy rainfall across North Texas.



The NWS Austin/San Antonio office reports there were brief tornadoes in NE Austin and SW San Antonio with the storms. There was additional severe weather across Southeast Texas. This map from the Storm Prediction Center shows reports of strong wind in blue and tornadoes in red. NWS crews will go out to investigate if it was in fact a tornado where those red dots are.



Have a great day! Rudy will have a complete update to the forecast later today in the blog and on FOX 34 News @ Nine.
-Matt