Area Forecast Discussion
Issued by NWS Amarillo, TX
Issued by NWS Amarillo, TX
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556 FXUS64 KAMA 031732 AFDAMA Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Amarillo TX 1132 AM CST Wed Dec 3 2025 ...New AVIATION... .KEY MESSAGES... Issued at 1124 PM CST Tue Dec 2 2025 - An approaching system is expected to bring flurries to light snow showers to most of the Panhandles tonight into Thursday afternoon. - Potential is present for a localized band of heavier snowfall to occur across the Western Panhandles tonight that could lead to small areas receiving an extra 2 to 4 inches. - Drier and mild weather looks to return for the weekend into next week. && .SHORT TERM... (Tonight through Thursday night) Issued at 1124 PM CST Tue Dec 2 2025 Latest satellite tonight is continuing to see the positively tilted 500mb disturbance push its way southeast into Colorado with a leading cold front not expected to be in the Panhandles till the early hour of Wednesday. While the cold front will usher in much cooler air for the Panhandles tomorrow afternoon, the potential for precipitation will be delay till later that evening when models see the moisture push in with the disturbance. With the colder air mass arriving earlier for the Panhandles, most models are in agreement for snow to be the most likely precipitation type for the day. Meanwhile, latest CAM runs are continuing the trend of seeing much more widespread lift across the Panhandles, which in turn has spread snow chances much further east than in previous runs. Still our best chances will lie across the Western Panhandles where chances are expected to peak around 60% around midnight. Where the biggest question still lies, however, is on how much snow is possible. For most of the Panhandles, amounts have ranged to around 0.25 to 0.75 inches of snowfall by the time activity wraps up Thursday. On the other hand, recent CAMs runs continue to suggest the potential for localized maxima of snowfall somewhere across the Western Panhandles thanks impart to mesoscale features working in conjunction with the terrain. While pining down the exact location of these features has been extremely difficult, it does open up the potential for a narrow corridor of 1 to 2 inches of snowfall accumulation in the span of only a couple of hours. As mention prior, however, pining down the exact location of this band, or possibly even bands, has not been easy with present CAMS placing a 10 to 30% chance of seeing an inch or greater anywhere from Boise City, OK to just south of us in Plainview, TX. Regardless, snow showers do look to tapper off by Thursday afternoon a models see the system make a quick exit in favor or a weak upper-level ridge. && .LONG TERM... (Friday through next Tuesday) Issued at 1124 PM CST Tue Dec 2 2025 Model agreement looks to favor a more northwesterly upper-level flow for the Panhandles as we move into Friday and the weekend. This flow alongside weak ridging does look to but an end to the Panhandles chances of active weather, with most ensembles keeping precipitation chances less than 10% through the middle of next week. These drier conditions will also prompt a bit of a warm up for the Panhandles with afternoon highs this weekend quickly returning to the mid to upper 50s. Meanwhile, next week could see high temperatures back into the 60s should this dry trend continue. && .AVIATION... (18Z TAFS) Issued at 1125 AM CST Wed Dec 3 2025 Low clouds and snow are expected to arrive at all sites this evening into Thursday morning, creating MVFR to LIFR conditions. Light snow is most likely to fall intermittently between 00-12z, with chances for narrow bands to create heavier snow and reduced visibility at times. The exact location and timing of this potential is still up in the air and will continue to be adjusted in future forecasts. Snow is expected to gradually taper off by the end of the 18z period. Winds will be out of the east - northeast before becoming more light and variable in the morning hours. Harrel && .AMA WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... TX...None. OK...None. && $$ SHORT TERM...11 LONG TERM....11 AVIATION...38