coldA strong arctic cold front will move south across West Central Texas late Tuesday night and into Wednesday morning, bringing much colder temperatures back to the region. Wintry precipitation will again be a threat, beginning late Tuesday night. We will likely see precipitation begin as all rain Tuesday night. As the cold air invades we expect to see a brief changeover to freezing rain and sleet, then snow by Wednesday morning. The highest chance for heavy snow will be over the Big Country, with lesser amounts to the south. At this time, the forecast is for 1 to 2 inches of snow generally along and north of interstate 20. Ice accumulations are expected to remain light with this system. However, significant travel problems will still be likely with the very cold temperatures. Given the high winds expected, reduced visibility due to blowing snow will also be a concern. Snow will be very slow to melt on the roads.

High temperatures on Wednesday are expected to remain in the lower to middle 20s with strong north winds of 15 to 25 mph throughout much of the day. This will result in wind chill values as low as 5 to 10 degrees below zero across the big country and Concho Valley Tuesday night and over all of West Central Texas Wednesday morning.

A good deal of uncertainty still exists. If the storm track shifts farther south, then the anticipated snowfall amounts will need to be adjusted up. Conversely, a more northerly track will likely reduce the heavy snow threat. Please monitor this situation closely as the details will become more apparent.