Our first freeze of the season for most of the ArkLaTex arrives Monday night. Rain will likely return to the area starting very late Tuesday night. Dry and mild weather will then settle in for the rest of the week.
Monday was a sunny, breezy, and chilly day around the ArkLaTex. Daytime highs have struggled to make it into the upper 40s to lower 50s. Look for the wind to die down Monday night. That will combine with a clear sky and very dry air to allow temperatures to dip several degrees below freezing for all of the area. We will likely see Tuesday morning temperatures begin in the mid to upper 20s. Despite the cold start, the combination of lots of sunshine and a south wind will warm temperatures to slightly below normal levels in the upper 50s to lower 60s.
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Another disturbance will then approach the area from the northwest. Look for clouds to increase Tuesday night and rain will become likely Wednesday. Even though we won’t experience much in terms of thunderstorms, we will still see a decent amount of rain. Right now models are in general agreement that most of the area can expect to see around an inch. The rain will end very early Thursday morning over the southeastern edge of the area. We will then see a mostly cloudy sky Thursday. With the clouds around the area Wednesday and Thursday, temperatures will be well below normal as most of the area will see highs in the upper 40s to lower 50s. The expected rain will help with the developing drought conditions. Moderate drought is in place over much of the western half of the ArkLaTex. See the latest on drought and rainfall here.
Sunshine will return Friday and will stick around through at least the middle of next week. We will likely see a warming trend during this period. Look for highs this weekend to be in the upper 50s to lower 60s. Overnight lows will be in the low to middle 30s. The warming trend will continue next week. Highs will eventually return to the low to middle 60s. Overnight lows will return to the mid to upper 30s.
The longer-range weather picture looks rather dry. We could see the dry weather continue through all of next week. Another chance for rain will begin very late next week or next weekend. Temperatures will likely stay near or slightly above normal for this time of year.
–Todd Warren
