October is a fascinating month in west Texas. As expected we had rather uneventful weather in the first two weeks of the month. I know we got that first freeze very early, but that was the only significant thing that happened for Lubbock. The end of the month tends to get more interesting and we are going to get that first hand today. A cold front is bringing in a surge of much colder air to the region. In fact, we've already reached our high temperature for the day, at 56°. Temperatures will drop in to the mid 30s by 5:00 pm. You need to remain bundled up all day long because the wind is going to make things feel much colder.
Along with the cold air comes the precipitation. The highlighted counties in the photo above show where a winter weather advisory is in effect until 1:00 am Friday. Accumulating snow is likely in those areas. We're generally going to see cold rain for Lubbock this afternoon. I can't rule out a few snow flakes mixed in, but we will not get any accumulations as rain will dominate the type of precipitation. Watch out for slick roads for the evening rush, as well as tonight. The low temperature for Lubbock on Friday morning will get down to 27°, with lower readings to the north. Wind chill values will be in the single digits and teens.
We'll see some rain showers for the central and eastern counties this afternoon. Coverage of these showers will be at 30%. We won't see too much heavy rain, but roads will become slick for the evening commute. There will be snow showers across the advisory counties...Parmer, Castro, Swisher and Briscoe. Heavier snow will be seen across the panhandle, as well as north-central and northeast New Mexico. These rain showers for Lubbock will wind down this evening. It will be a cold rain, mixed with some very light snow at times. There will be no accumulation of snow for Lubbock. Accumulating snow will remain in the northern counties this afternoon. Temperatures will be in the mid 30s by 5:00 pm, with those readings dropping down to near freezing at midnight.
The big question for today is going to be snow accumulation. I know you've probably heard a lot of different things about how this system will affect us. I will reiterate that accumulating snow will be seen in Parmer, Castro, Swisher and Briscoe Counties. Those locations will see at least an inch of snow, with outlying areas seeing up to three inches of accumulation. I know this computer is showing accumulation for Lubbock, but that is not going to happen. This is a computer and can not tell what the atmosphere is really doing. A lot of meteorologists will not tell that to you and will just read off what they see. I want you to get the full facts when it comes to this forecast. The ground has been too warm for that and we will not see snow. There will be some flakes mixed with rain at times, but that is all. So be careful traveling north today, as road conditions will deteriorate through the afternoon and evening. Three-to-five inches of snow will be seen across portions of the panhandle today.
The biggest issue for Lubbock will be rain showers this afternoon and evening, mixed with very light snow at times. Although there will be no snow accumulation for Lubbock, it will get very cold tonight. The temperature will drop to 27° by tomorrow morning. So turn off your sprinklers and turn up the heaters overnight.