Area Forecast Discussion
Issued by NWS Midland/Odessa, TX

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963 FXUS64 KMAF 120714 AFDMAF Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Midland/Odessa TX 214 AM CDT Wed Jun 12 2024 ...New SHORT TERM, LONG TERM... .SHORT TERM...
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(Today through Thursday afternoon) Issued at 212 AM CDT Wed Jun 12 2024 With the upper trough well to the east and any surface fronts washing out, a quieter pattern settles in. Increasing thicknesses and geopotential heights will lead to a warming trend today into tomorrow. Highs today will be mostly in the 90s, 80s in higher elevations and Western Low Rolling Plains, and 100s over parts along the Pecos River, Reeves County Plains, and along the Rio Grande. Light easterly flow will keep temperatures from becoming extremely warm, but the boundary layer will be humid with dew point temperatures in the 60s, upper 40s to 50s westernmost regions through the short term. A mix of high clouds and light easterly winds will keep lows warmer than average tonight, with lows only falling into the lows 70s and above aside from 60s in northern Lea County and Permian Basin, as well as higher elevations. Winds veer to more southeasterly tonight. Thursday features more widespread highs in the 100s over most of the SE NM plains, along the Pecos River, Reeves County Plains and Stockton Plateau, lower elevations in Culberson County, and near the Rio Grande, with highs in the 90s everywhere else.
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&& .LONG TERM...
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(Thursday night through Tuesday) Issued at 212 AM CDT Wed Jun 12 2024 Thursday evening, Southeast New Mexico and West Texas will be firmly beneath a broad ridge across the southern tier of the CONUS, sandwiched between a trough over the Southeast and Florida Peninsula and another trough over southern California. The latter will gradually translate east-northeastward across the Four Corners Region on Friday, flattening the ridge somewhat and shunting its axis eastward. Locally, slightly decreasing thicknesses in response on Friday will yield highs a couple degrees cooler than Thursday, though temperatures will remain around 2-3 degrees above normal in the middle to upper 90s for most, and lower 100s through the Pecos and Rio Grande Valleys. Additionally, Friday late afternoon and evening, there will be an opportunity for showers and thunderstorms, mainly over northwestern portions of the area in closer proximity to the passing shortwave. However, this may change between now and then, given precipitation chances are dependent on the eventual track of the low. Regardless, forecast rainfall remains light, and storms that develop would be mainly diurnal in nature. Heading into the weekend, flow aloft transitions to quasi-zonal Saturday and southwesterly on Sunday, with increasing subsidence mitigating rain chances for our area. Cluster analyses and deterministic guidance remain in fairly good agreement regarding the evolution of the upper pattern this weekend and early next week, with a deepening trough over the western CONUS and ridging over the east, and a subtropical ridge of high pressure beneath the West Coast trough progged to extend from west of Baja across northern Mexico and into Texas. In our corner of the world, that means continued dry conditions and a subtle warming trend that will carry us into early next week with highs in the upper 90s and 100s and lows in the upper 60s and 70s each day. The silver lining is that persistent southeasterly surface flow will keep some semblance of low-level moisture around, and keep afternoon temperatures at least a few degrees cooler than they might otherwise become. Either way, it`s going to be hot, and the effects of heat are cumulative, so those with outdoor plans or who work outside will need to plan accordingly to prevent heat stress and heat-related illness. JP
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&& .AVIATION... (06Z TAFS) Issued at 1202 AM CDT Wed Jun 12 2024 VFR VIS and CIGs prevail at all terminals throughout TAF period. Light easterly winds at all terminals decrease in speed until 17Z Wednesday. Winds back to northeasterly at FST at 17Z. Winds at all terminals shift to southeasterly by 03Z Thursday, with gustiest winds for terminals across SE NM plains into western Permian Basin and over Stockton Plateau. && .PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS...
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Big Spring 93 71 99 72 / 0 0 0 0 Carlsbad 99 73 104 74 / 10 10 0 0 Dryden 97 75 99 75 / 0 0 0 0 Fort Stockton 98 73 102 73 / 0 0 0 0 Guadalupe Pass 93 72 97 72 / 10 10 10 10 Hobbs 95 68 100 70 / 0 0 0 0 Marfa 96 62 98 62 / 20 10 10 0 Midland Intl Airport 94 72 99 73 / 0 0 0 0 Odessa 94 73 99 74 / 0 0 0 0 Wink 99 75 104 75 / 0 0 0 0
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&& .MAF WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... TX...None. NM...None. && $$ SHORT TERM...94 LONG TERM....84 AVIATION...94