As always, weather in our state can be a bit strange at times.  After an active weekend with severe weather which included severe storms, tornados, hail and flooding we’re eyeballing a winter weather forecast for portions of the northern panhandle on Tuesday.  Rain is expected to begin late Monday night into early Tuesday across the northern panhandle ahead of the advancing cold front.  Severe weather is not expected, but a few of the storms could contain some lightning and thunder.  By late Tuesday morning, our next front will be pushing into the panhandle region with gusty winds and temperatures falling rapidly in its wake.  Timing of when the rain will transition over to snow is not certain, but that transition is currently expected by late morning/early afternoon with non-accumulating snow expected to fall through the afternoon and early evening hours.  Surface temperatures are expected to be above freezing, so hazardous travel…other than what you typically see on wet roadways…should not be an issue.  Still, you’ll want to check local media before heading out to work or school Tuesday morning and monitor roadway conditions throughout the day just to be safe.  Ahead of the front across the southern panhandle and rolling plains, strong westerly winds blowing dust will be an issue until the front finally moves through by evening.  NWS Lubbock sums it up nicely…”Only in Texas”….

The cold front will continue moving south across our state Tuesday evening and overnight, eventually making it to the coast by around daybreak on Wednesday. The front will drag dry air in behind it which will stay in place for much of the work week ahead.  Temperatures will drop to below normal for Wednesday and Thursday, then warm back up by the weekend.  The combination of less humid air and cooler more seasonal temperatures will make for a very pleasant stretch this week.  Rain chances will be scant for the work week ahead as well.  We’ll see some wraparound precipitation tonight across north Texas courtesy of the departing low pressure system which brought us all the severe weather today.  Thankfully, no severe weather is expected tonight.  We may see some scattered shower development across the eastern half of the state early Wednesday, but other than that, we’re looking to stay pretty dry.  Enjoy the relatively quiet week ahead!