SUNSHINE RETURNS

By KTXS Meteorologist Mark Rowlett

Updated: 10 PM, March 11th, 2010

The showers and clouds returned to the region Thursday, but they cleared out Thursday evening.  We are now back to fair skies that should stay with us into Sunday.

Temperature are back to being a bit chilly with breezy northwest and west winds.  Look for low temperatures tonight to drop into the middle 30s.  The nice sunshine should really help us out Friday, but temperatures will still be a little below normal with highs in the middle 60s. 

Fair skies and low humidity will give us pretty good swings in temperature for the weekend.  Highs should be in the upper 60s Saturday and lower 70s Sunday.  Look for low temperatures around 40.

Another cold front drifting in from the northeast and an upper level low pressure system system moving in from the west will bring us back to mostly cloudy skies, cooler temperatures and a chance of showers for Monday into early Tuesday.

SPRING OUTLOOK

By KTXS Meteorologist Chad Garneau

Updated: 9 AM,  March 11th, 2010

7-10 Day Forecast: We are getting indications that our weather will improve by the middle of next week.  Zonal flow will develop over Texas.  This pattern should translate to sunny days and warmer temperatures.  We're thinking high's will be in the 60's and may end up well into the 70's by the end of next week.

10-14 Day Forecast: The third weekend in March appears warm and dry.  Primarily data suggest high's may climb up to the 80's briefly. 

SPRING FORECAST:  The Climate Prediction Center has sent out their official spring outlook for 2010 and we generally agree with their assessment.  In their forecast they suggest below normal temperatures and above normal rainfall for West Central Texas.  Basically, that means temperatures will fluctuate a bit more in the 60's and 70's then in years past.  Also, rainfall amounts could top out between 6-8" in the next 3 months.  This prediction is based on the fact that the El-Nino pattern will still be active across the Pacific Ocean during this time period.

 

Drought Monitor:  With all of the rain we've seen, you can imagine our fire season has been low, which is great! As of March 9th, no Big Country counties are facing a drought.