The warm temperatures from this week will soon be replaced by low, freezing temperatures as a cold front is expected to intrude upon the region.
Thursday’s temperature will feature a high of 36 degrees with a low of 23.
Friday’s low is expected to be even colder at 19 with a high of 52.
The low temperatures may last for the remainder of the week and continue into next week where a high in the 60s won’t be reached until possibly next Friday.
However, as far as snow and ice accumulations go, people in the Odessa-Midland area should not worry.
“We’re going to have another Artic Air Outbreak,” Meteorologist at the National Weather Service in Midland Matthew Johnson said. “We’re going to have a cold front bringing in cooler air from the artic and that possibly could produce some snow-like showers in the Davis Mountains but here in the Odessa-Midland area, we’re not expecting much.”
Even if there isn’t any precipitation in the Permian Basin, Johnson says the ground temperature in the area has been too warm for anything to stick.
“We’re looking like we’re going to be dry,” Johnson said. “Temperature-wise, possibly (Thursday) afternoon, we’ll barely be breaking freezing. But after that, our high temperatures should gradually warm up until the weekend when we get cold air again. Temperatures should be frigid as they will be (Thursday) afternoon. As for low temperatures, we’re looking at the upper teens, (Wednesday night) and (Thursday) as well. Thursday night, it should be in the teens as well. The low temperatures should slowly move into the mid-20s by the weekend and hopefully above freezing next week. It looks like low temperatures will be below freezing for the rest of this week.”
If there is an area in the Permian Basin that might see any precipitation, it’s likely in the southern parts of the region in the Davis Mountains.
However, just like with Odessa and Midland, the ground temperatures in the Davis Mountains are still too warm for much to stick around.
“They can expect light accumulations,” Johnson said of the Davis Mountains. “The ground temperatures are still pretty warm out there so it’s going to be hard for anything to stick. It should still be cold enough for them to see a range of rain-snow mix and accumulation-wise, a tenth of an inch to a few hundredths so it’s looking like it’ll be pretty dry. Fortunately, our dew points are pretty low. They’re slightly increasing as the front moves in but they should be pretty dry.
Wednesday’s high in Odessa was around 63 degrees. Monday and Tuesday of this week saw similar warm temperatures prior to the cold front.
