A dry cold front is moving south across Texas this morning and will bring a return to seasonal temperatures for the remainder of the week to the state. With no precipitation expected with the front our primary weather focus will be on the potential for weather hazards today. We have a critical fire weather risk this afternoon from the Transpecos southeast along the Rio Grande through Del Rio to Laredo all the way down to McAllen and Brownsville. Gusty winds up to 25 MPH, very warm temperatures, and relative humidity values below 20-25 percent will allow for rapid fire growth today. Any wildfires that develop could spread rapidly and require substantial resources to contain.

High temperatures will be significant cooler north of the cool front today with highs in the 40s and 50s. Parts of the Panhandle will only make it into the 30s this afternoon, which isn’t too unusual for January, but will be a shock considering the recent warm weather. 40s and 50s can be expected along and north of Interstate 20. Folks south of that line will still see highs in the 60s and 70s today, but your time is coming.

Lows tonight will be in the 10s across the Texas Panhandle and in the low-lying areas of West Texas. 20s can be expected in the Borderland, the Permian Basin, into the Big Country, Concho Valley, and low-lying sections of the Hill Country and Northwest Texas. We’ll generally see cooler conditions tonight across all of Texas.

Thursday and Friday will bring a return of seasonal weather conditions for January across Texas. High temperatures will be in the 40s across the Texas Panhandle and West Texas with 50s in Northwest Texas, North Texas, Northeast Texas, south into the Concho Valley, Hill Country, and Central Texas. 60s an be expected in Southeast Texas and South Texas. A reinforcing shot of cooler air will arrive on Saturday with high temperatures dropping a couple of degrees compared to Friday. Rain chances may also increase this weekend in sections of South Texas, although no high-impact weather is currently anticipated.