As cold weather encompasses most of the southern states today, I am sitting here thinking of ways to keep warm! Now, we are in a La Nina pattern. That usually means warmer and dry air for Texas and most of the south, along with cooler air and more precipitation to the north. La Nina is the cooling of water in the eastern Pacific Ocean. That cold air affects the weather patterns that move towards the United States. With that said, there will be periods of cold air and precipitation, but they won't be long lived. That is what we have been seeing since Christmas. It cold very quickly, then warmed up into January and now it's very cold again. Temperatures in the South Plains of Texas dropped down into the teens, with single digit and negative wind chill values.
Our forecast is calling for warmer air for the end of the week and into the weekend. We'll see cooler air as we head into Sunday and Monday. Another cold front will bring in this wave of colder air. That is another thing that we see during La Nina. The progression of cold fronts from January-March will give us the periodical cold spell. The one headed our way this weekend will keep temperatures into the 50s, even above average by Monday. One thing we can be sure of is that the weather across west Texas is going to continue to be active through winter. When I say active, I wish I meant rain and snow because we need the moisture. In this case, 'active' is going to focus on the air masses that will entertain the South Plains.
So, stay tuned and we'll see what the pattern brings us next week. As for the next possibility of much-needed rain, that is still up in the air. Dry weather is going to be the story as we move through, at least, Monday.
