CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — Cold arctic air is beginning to spill into northern parts of the state along with some wintry precipitation in the form of snow, sleet and freezing rain. There is a large portion of the Panhandle and north Texas that have winter-weather alerts in place.
That arctic cold front will surge southward later tonight, just after midnight and earlier for our northern counties, and as it does will take our temperatures from the middle to upper 70s today down to eventually the upper 30s by Friday morning.
So, if you are a fan of the milder weather, really enjoy today because today is the last day for several days that we’ll see highs in the 70s. We’ll have increasing clouds throughout the day with a few showers, but that shower activity will increase late tonight and early tomorrow with the front.
We’re also beginning with some patchy dense fog and a Dense Fog Advisory is in place until 8 a.m. for many locations, minus the coastal regions.
Once the front blows in tonight, the winds will increase around 15-30 MPH from the north. That will almost immediately take our wind-chill values into the 20s and 30s.
There is a small opportunity for some sleet or freezing rain as we go into Thursday afternoon, but moreso after midnight and heading into Friday morning. Most of the wintry precipitation is forecast to stay north, but more forecast models are beginning to hint at some sleet for some inland and northern parts of the Coastal Bend. Accumulations are not expected to much, but still use caution if you find yourself on the roads when that is occurring.
A hard freeze is forecast on Friday and Saturday morning, where some locations could dip below freezing for 4-8 hours. Be sure to take precautions by sheltering your outdoor pets, covered exposed pipes, cover vegetation and be sure to check on family and friends to be sure they have all they need to beat the cold.
Highs on Thursday, Friday and Saturday will be in the 40s. In fact, all day long on Thursday, temperatures will just continue to fall.
Precipitation chances go away by Friday afternoon, and we’ll see partly to mostly cloudy skies through the rest of the week and weekend as temperatures moderate back into the 50s by Sunday.
Today: Mainly cloudy, windy and warm; stray showers with strong arctic front tonight…High: 78…Wind: SE 15-25 MPH.
Tonight: Showers increase as strong arctic front moves in, windy and cold.
Thursday: AM showers as arctic front moves in just after midnight, temperatures plunge all day, windy, very cold and mainly cloudy; also, spotty sleet/wintry precip. possible…High: 46 (falling all day into the 30s) …Wind: N 15-30 MPH & gusting (making for wind chill values in the teens and 20s).
Friday: AM hard freeze with temperatures in the upper 20s and wind chill values in the teens; still mainly cloudy, very cold and windy…High: 46…Wind: N 15-30 MPH & gusting.
Saturday: AM hard freeze with temperatures in the upper 20s and wind chill values in the teens; also, an opportunity for AM sleet; afternoon will still be cold with partly to mostly cloudy skies but less wind…High: 47…Wind: N 10-15 MPH.
Sunday: Near freezing in the early morning, milder, but still chilly and partly cloudy for the afternoon…High: 56…Wind: NNE 10-20 MPH.
Monday: Above freezing in the morning, bust still cold; breezy and partly cloudy for the afternoon, still chilly…High: 59…Wind: NNE 10-20 MPH.
Have a great day and get ready for the big temperature plunge!