Our wacky west Texas weather is going to kick into high gear starting today and will continue its crazy run for several days. We will be seeing spring-like weather today; including sunny skies, warm air and 10-15 mph wind. Wind will gust at 20-25 mph at times this afternoon. While most of us will be experiencing the warm weather today, the northern counties will begin to notice minor changes later Wednesday evening. A very strong cold front will start to affect those northern counties tonight. Said front will slowly make its way through our area during the day Thursday. The front is forecast to move through Lubbock by 10:00 pm. The northerly wind is going to bring down frigid air from the north. Low temperatures Friday morning will be near freezing for Lubbock, with upper 20s possible to the north. That is why a freeze watch is in effect from 9:00 pm tomorrow night, through 9:00 am Friday.
The map above is showing the forecast for Thursday night at 9:35. You can see the arrows to the north indicating north wind and locations south of Lubbock with a southwest wind. That indicates the two different air masses we will have in place. As that front races south, wind is going to increase from the north at 20-30 mph. Temperatures will rapidly start to drop. We'll be in the low-to-mid 70s in Lubbock and Levelland, with temperatures already in the upper 40s to the north. This is going to be the first major front of the Autumn season and the strongest front we've seen in months. Be ready for wind chills to be in the teens and 20s Friday morning, before sunrise, especially in the northern row of counties.
You will need to get your winter coats, turn on the heaters, bring in the pets and plants and check your pipes. Remember to let some water drip through the pipes Thursday night, into Friday morning. The high temperature for Lubbock on Friday is expected to only reach 55°. That is nearly 20° below average. The wind is going to be at 15-20 mph, with gusts near 30 mph in the morning. So it will feel more like the upper 40s on Friday afternoon. That will all change by Sunday and Monday...highs then will get back into the low 80s. That's the typical crazy weather we get here in west Texas!