Another west Texas cold front moved through on Sunday afternoon. We'll actually be feeling the cooler air for at least a couple of days. Today is definitely the first chilly day. The clouds that were out there this morning will be staying with us through the day. Expect a mix of clouds and sunshine. The wind will be sustained at 10-15 mph. Those two things will be the reason for it feeling colder than it is. That wind is going to make it feel more like the upper 30s Monday afternoon. Clouds will clear off Monday night, into Tuesday morning, which means you need to plan for a frigid Tuesday morning. Lows will be in the teens and low 20s to start the day. The cold spell won't last too long, because we'll see highs closer to average by Wednesday.
The week will be uneventful, as high pressure dominates west Texas. The dry air that we have been plagued with in December will be the main story. There's really nothing much more to say. The school kids will enjoy Friday as they begin winter break. There will be plenty of sunshine, with highs in the mid 50s. We'll even be in the 60s by the weekend. Not very winter-like at all; as winter arrives at 10:19 pm Saturday night.
Now to the all-important Christmas week weather. There will obviously be a lot of travel beginning on Friday. The above photo is showing the outlook for December 23-29. Above average month has dominated the month of December this year and that is going to continue during this time period. Virtually the entire area has a 70% chance of seeing above average high temperatures. Now that could be highs in the mid 50s, or even higher. We can get a good idea of this with the long-range forecast. But don't believe anything specific for Christmas until next Monday. Exact forecasts this far out are never accurate. We will know that it will be a warm end to the year. I'd say there is a 0% chance to see a white Christmas in Lubbock this year. Sorry!
The precipitation outlook from the Weather Prediction Center during the period of December 23-29 is giving west Texas a 50% chance of above average precipitation. Now, if we go by the temperature guidance in the photo above this one, that will be in the form of rain. Last year, we had that big snow storm on December 8, but have missed out on seeing the flakes flying this year. That trend is looking to continue for Christmas week. Hopefully we'll get some rainfall, because it has been so dry. I will obviously keep an eye on the forecast for Christmas week and if anything changes, you will be the first to know!