Man, I don't know who was working the day shift at the NWSFO-EWX ... but this discussion below is a sorry piece of rubbish. I guess the person was busy watching football and didn't want to be bothered. You read this and you'd have no idea of the complexity of the current pattern. Aye carumba!
*************
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE AUSTIN/SAN ANTONIO TX
202 PM CST SUN JAN 11 2009
.DISCUSSION...
THIS MODEL RUN REMAINS GENERALLY UNCHANGED FROM YESTERDAY`S RUN.
A STRONGER UPPER TROF SWINGS DEEP THROUGH THE CENTRAL U.S. MONDAY
NIGHT SENDING ANOTHER REINFORCING SHOT OF COLD AIR INTO TEXAS.
SURFACE WINDS WILL SWITCH AROUND TO THE NORTH BEFORE MIDNIGHT
MONDAY NIGHT. FARTHER UPSTREAM OVER THE PACIFIC, A SERIES OF TROFS
SPEED EAST OVER THE UPPER RIDGE AND DIVE SOUTHEAST INTO THE
CENTRAL U.S. ON THE BACKSIDE OF THE POLAR VORTEX.
THE NEXT SHORTWAVE TROF DROPS SOUTH ALONG THE LEE OF THE ROCKIES,
REACHING TEXAS WEDNESDAY. UPPER WINDS ALOFT BECOME NEARLY ZONAL
ALLOWING MID AND LOW LEVEL MOISTURE TO FLOW BACK INTO THE STATE
THURSDAY. ISENTROPIC LIFTING WILL BE ON THE INCREASE CREATING
CLOUDY CONDITIONS BY FRIDAY.
OTHER MINOR DISTURBANCES CONTINUE TO FLOW INTO THIS MEAN TROF POSITION
CAUSING THE TROF TO DIG/RETROGRADE WESTWARD OVER BAJA.
THE NEXT VIGOROUS SHORTWAVE TROF PUSHES THROUGH THE UPPER RIDGE
AND DROPS SOUTH ACROSS THE ROCKIES SATURDAY AND IS SWEPT EASTWARD
THRU THE CENTRAL U.S., KEEPING THE FLOW ZONAL OVER TEXAS.
TEMPS EXPECTED TO CONTINUE TO HOVER AROUND SEASONAL NORMALS.
**************
Meanwhile, the forecasters who chose to give some thought to work today have this information:
From NWSFO-Midland/Odessa:
THE LATEST 12Z ECMWF SHOWS POTENTIALLY
A VERY COLD AIRMASS HOLDING TO THE LOWER ELEVATIONS OF THE EASTERN
CWA. I COULD VERY EASILY THIS THIS HAPPENING MAKING A VERY
DIFFICULT FORECAST FRIDAY AND SATURDAY. BOTH THE GFS AND ECMWF
ALSO SHOW MOISTURE RETURNING BRINGING EXTENSIVE CLOUD COVER FRIDAY
MORNING AND CONTINUING INTO SATURDAY. THIS WILL ALSO AFFECT TEMPS
GREATLY...ESPECIALLY HIGHS ON FRIDAY WHICH COULD BE KEPT QUITE LOW
WITH A COMBINATION OF A COLD AIR MASS AND LOW CLOUDS LIMITING
INSOLATION. YET ANOTHER COLD FRONT SUNDAY CONTINUES TO LIMIT ANY
CHANCE FOR SIGNIFICANT WARMING.
From NWSFO-Amarillo:
THE 12Z ECMWF IS A BIT
COLDER THAN THE LATEST RUNS OF THE GFS/CANADIAN BUT IT LOOKS VERY
REASONABLE GIVEN THE DENSITY OF THE AIRMASS AND PATTERN ALOFT. WITH
THAT IN MIND...CONFIDENCE IS INCREASING THAT WE WILL SEE AT LEAST A
GLANCING BLOW OF MODIFIED ARCTIC AIR.
Even NWSFO-Brownsville!!
COLDER AIR
ASSOCIATED WITH THE FRONT MOVES IN FROM THE NORTHEAST WHICH ALLOWS
FOR MODIFICATION OVER THE WARMER GULF WATERS BY THE TIME IT REACHES
DEEP SOUTH TEXAS. THE MODELS HAVE BEEN BACKING OFF ON THE AMOUNT
OF COLD AIR REACHING SOUTH TEXAS FOR THE LAST FEW DAYS AND
CONTINUES ON THIS TREND. WILL CONTINUE TO MONITOR FOR ANY SHIFT
WESTWARD OF THE STRONGER POCKET OF POLAR AIR.