Area Forecast Discussion
Issued by NWS Midland/Odessa, TX
Issued by NWS Midland/Odessa, TX
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207 FXUS64 KMAF 222033 AFDMAF Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Midland/Odessa TX 233 PM CST Sat Nov 22 2025 ...New SHORT TERM, LONG TERM... .KEY MESSAGES... Updated at 227 PM CST Sat Nov 22 2025 - An approaching upper-level system brings increasing chances (20- 70%) of showers and thunderstorms Sunday morning through Sunday night. - Isolated strong to severe storms capable of producing quarter size hail, strong wind gusts, and locally heavy rainfall will be possible over the Permian Basin, Trans Pecos, and Big Bend region Sunday afternoon and evening. - A strong cold front brings near to below average temperatures to the area by Thanksgiving. && .SHORT TERM... (This afternoon through Sunday night) Issued at 227 PM CST Sat Nov 22 2025 Upper-level ridging continues to extend over much of the state of Texas this afternoon well in advance of a deep low pressure system centered off the coast of Baja. Mostly sunny skies and pleasant weather conditions remain in place across west Texas and southeast New Mexico this afternoon with temperatures mostly in the 60s across the region, except lower to mid 70s over portions of the Trans Pecos and Big Bend. The upper-level ridge will shift eastward across Oklahoma and eastern portions of Texas tonight as the closed low off the Baja coast lifts into Arizona. Southwesterly flow aloft will increase over west Texas and southeast New Mexico tonight ahead of this system. Easterly to southeasterly surface flow will allow for a gradual increase in low level moisture tonight into Sunday morning with surface dewpoints gradually rising back into the 40s to lower 50s over most areas. Isolated rain showers could develop over portions of southeast New Mexico overnight into early Sunday morning as ascent arrives within southwesterly flow aloft ahead of the low pressure system to our west. Weak isentropic ascent could also aid in the development of isolated showers over portions of the Lower Trans Pecos prior to sunrise. More meaningful ascent still looks on track to spread across our forecast area during the day Sunday, especially going into the afternoon/evening hours as a shortwave lifts across our region ahead of the upper-low that will be tracking into the Four Corners/southern Rockies. We expect scattered to numerous showers and storms to develop over far southeast New Mexico and the Trans Pecos and gradually spread into the Permian Basin Sunday afternoon and evening. The greatest coverage of showers and storms will be focused over the Permian Basin and eastern portions of the Trans Pecos, where POPs will range between 50-70% Sunday afternoon/evening. Strong deep layer shear on the order of 60-80 kt will spread over our forecast area ahead of the upper-level storm system Sunday afternoon and evening. A corridor of instability with MUCAPE values around or slightly above 1000 J/KG also looks to spread from the Big Bend into the Trans Pecos and Permian Basin Sunday afternoon and evening, though forecast soundings indicate that much of this instability will be elevated in nature. Shear and instability profiles will support a threat for hail up to the size of quarters in some of the stronger storm cells that develop Sunday afternoon/evening, with a localized wind threat also possible if surface based instability can be realized. The overall severe threat remains marginal (level 1 of 5) at this time. Some storms could produce heavy rainfall, perhaps very locally up to 0.5" to 1" over the Permian Basin and Trans Pecos. Rain/storm chances should shift to the east of our forecast area shortly after midnight. Highs on Sunday should once again only reach into the 60s and 70s. Lows Sunday night range in the 40s and 50s, except for readings in the mid to upper 30s over higher elevation areas. && .LONG TERM... (Monday through Friday) Issued at 227 PM CST Sat Nov 22 2025 A dry and windy day kicks off the work week. Guidance has the upper- level trough ejecting across the Central Plains which sends a Pacific front to the region late Sunday night into Monday morning. Winds are forecast to pick up during the morning to afternoon hours across many portions of west Texas and southeast New Mexico. Sustained winds are expected to reach 15-25 mph with gusts up to 30- 35 mph over the plains, while stronger winds will be prevalent over the higher terrain. This may result in another potential round of high winds across the Guadalupe Mountains, though there is uncertainty of how strong winds will be at this time. Blowing dust could also be a concern mainly for the western portions of the area where less rain is forecast to occur from Sunday. Blowing dust is going to be dependent on how much rain occurs in this short amount of time. High temperatures climb back to the mid 60s to mid 70s regionwide as weak cold air advection from the front will be dominated by westerly downslope winds aloft. Tuesday, a surface low pressure system across the Northern Plains sends a strong cold front to the region late Tuesday afternoon into Wednesday. Highs are anticipated to be similar to Monday`s temperatures as the colder air arrives Wednesday. Temperatures drop to near/slightly below normal by Wednesday where low temperatures in most locations span in the upper 20s to upper 30s both Wednesday and Thursday mornings. Highs struggle to reach the 60s for most on Wednesday. By Thanksgiving, temperatures rebound back in the 60s setting up pleasant weather conditions across west Texas and southeast New Mexico. Upper-level ridging takes shape over the region by Thanksgiving night which will promote a continued dry and warming trend heading into next weekend. Lamberson && .AVIATION... (18Z TAFS) Issued at 1139 AM CST Sat Nov 22 2025 VFR conditions and light winds will remain prevalent across all terminals this afternoon and evening. Increasing low level moisture will bring the potential for MVFR ceilings across all area terminals prior to sunrise Sunday morning. The latest TAFs reflect the potential for ceilings with bases between 1500-2500 ft AGL by around 11Z. These ceilings may persist over most terminals through 18Z. Isolated to scattered SHRA and possibly a few TSRA may develop Sunday morning, but the better potential will be during the afternoon and evening hours. Confidence was low enough to keep convective mention out of the latter part of this TAF period. && .PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS... Big Spring 48 63 50 71 / 10 60 60 0 Carlsbad 48 69 44 70 / 20 40 0 0 Dryden 57 69 56 79 / 20 30 50 0 Fort Stockton 55 76 51 73 / 10 40 40 0 Guadalupe Pass 46 61 41 58 / 10 30 0 0 Hobbs 46 64 42 66 / 20 60 10 0 Marfa 44 71 37 64 / 10 20 10 0 Midland Intl Airport 51 64 50 70 / 10 50 50 0 Odessa 53 64 50 69 / 10 50 40 0 Wink 53 70 46 70 / 10 40 20 0 && .MAF WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... TX...None. NM...None. && $$ SHORT TERM...21 LONG TERM....11 AVIATION...21