Finally, A Real Cold Front

Over the past several weeks, any cold front that passed though the Brazos Valley was fairly weak and tended to fizzle out. However, there is a true "Blue Norther" (or a cold front that will largely swing temperatures) to our northwest. This front will barrel down the Rockies and eventually slice though the Lone Star State.
Here is the current set up with this front:

The actual front is located from the Dakotas, down though California. Additionally, what makes this front different than the previous ones is that the air behind it is much colder. Plus, the front will make a full passage though the state, rather than grazing us with a minor blast of cooler air. At the moment, temperatures in northern British Columbia and Alaska are well below zero, which is an indication that it will get much colder here. It will not get that cold in Texas, as the air will moderate during its travel south. Nonetheless, we will feel some big changes.

By late Wednesday and into Thursday, the front will pierce though and the wind will begin to howl out of the northwest.

Gusts will reach 20-25mph at times early Thursday as the colder air rushes in. Highs will be slashed from the upper 60s to near 70 on Wednesday, to the low 50s for highs. During the overnight on Thursday, you will notice a huge difference with a widespread freeze as temperatures plummet into the 20s.

Furthermore, since this is a deep layer of cold air, it will take a few days to bounce back up into the 60s again.

I will keep you updated on facebook: www.facebook.com/KAGSweather and on Twitter: @KAGSweather 

Active Morning Leading Into A Colder Spell

Severe weather swept across parts of the Brazos Valley this morning with a Tornado Warning even issued for eastern Madison County around 4:50am. Good news is that there was no official sighting of a tornado despite indications on Doppler Radar. The only damaged reported in our viewing area were a few tree limbs that fell in northeastern Brazos County along Osr and Fountain Swiss Road.

A majority of the severe weather was to our southeast. Locations near Houston, Sugar Land, and Rosenburg got hit hard with torrential rainfall, 1.5" sized hail, frequent lightening, gusts to 60mph and even a sighting of a funnel cloud along Grand Parkway near Sugar Land. The following is an image of the radar this afternoon following the most intense storms:

Severe weather that took place in the morning turned more into a flooding event to our southeast. Storms traveled over the same areas for hours allowing rainfall accumulations to reach 4 inches in spots near Houston. When storms move over the same areas time and time again, we call this "training."

A low in the upper levels has provided the necessary energy to generate storms on its eastern flank, but on the back side, air is coming down from the north and northwest. The air is cold enough that snow is flying in West Texas:

Several inches of snow is expected from Midland/Odessa to the Concho Valley this afternoon. We will not see any snow here in the Brazos Valley, but this gives you a good illustration of how powerful this storm is. Additionally, this whole even evolved in a matter of hours from Sunday night to Monday morning. Another indication of its fury with rapid intensification.

Severe weather threat is over for us and showers will be around for the rest of the day and into early tomorrow. Beyond this storm that will depart Tuesday morning, a new cold front will arrive late Wednesday and really change the weather up here.

Recently, cold fronts have not been efficient in delivering the colder air from Canada. However, this one will. Here is a look at temperatures to our northwest this afternoon:

Note the darker blues that are draining down the Rockies and into West Texas. This is the first time in a while that we have seen a plunge of cold air like this. Additionally, when the front arrives, it will drag the air from the Rockies, plus from Canada to lock in the chill. Daytime highs will only reach the low 50s, where overnight lows by the end of the week will touch the mid to upper 20s.

All in all, it was a great sight to see rain, but the flooding around Houston was not the best. I will keep you updated here, on facebook: www.facebook.com/KAGSweather and on Twitter: @KAGSweather.

First Big Storm of 2012

Since we turned the page to 2012, the weather has been fairly tranquil. This pattern will last for the next few days, right though the weekend. Overall temperatures will be a good 10 to 13 degrees above average with a fair amount of sunshine. However, late Sunday night and into Monday, atmospheric ingredients will come together and evolve our first big wet weather maker of the year.

Recently, when cold front have passed the Brazos Valley, they tend to be weak and not pack much of a punch of cold air. For example, the front that came though yesterday, only knocked temperatures down a by a single degree. Plus, there was no moisture, therefore, all we saw where a few passing clouds with no precipitation.

This front will be a lot different by Monday morning. The current image will show you the surface set up:

In typical fashion we have a cold front to our north and west. Behind the front, its drier and cooler, and ahead of the front, its warmer with more moisture. However, when this front enters the Brazos Valley early Monday, it will slow down and stall. Additionally, a developing area of low pressure will ride along this front to kick in an abundance of lift and energy. Therefore, clouds will quickly develop and yes, widespread rain will be the story.

Here is how everything will change by Monday:

The low pressure center will ride along the front and produce heavy rainfall. At the moment, computer information is outputting 1-2" of rain for East Texas. This storm has yet to take shape, and there are several more days for changes in the computer models. Right now, the time frame of Monday and early Tuesday will be the best chance for wet weather. Furthermore, if the timing shifts, the rain amounts will reflect the changes.

By Tuesday, rain will shut off in the afternoon and we begin to dry out before the next cold front arrives with a cold shot from Canada.

We will keep you up to date with the latest information here at KAGS-HD.

2011, A Year of Extremes

For most, the drought takes the top spot when it comes to the weather across the entire state from 2011. Additionally, searing heat blazed the southern Plains with all time records broken for many cities. For farmers, 2011 was a year to forget as many wet weather systems steered away from the Brazos Valley. 2012 will be a year to rejuvenate the dry soil and brown appearance to the ground that was once flush with a vivid green color.

Following analysis of the climactic data at Easterwood Airport in College Station, 2011 is down in the record books at the warmest year on record. FYI, records have been kept since 1902 in College Station. When all of the high as well as low temperatures were put together and averages out, College Station on average was 71.6° for 2011. This bests 1993, the second warmest on record, by 0.7°. February 19th was the coldest day with a low of 19°, and we hit 109° twice, on August 27th and 28th.

Speaking of heat, the six month period between March 1st and August 31st was the hottest on record with an average temperature of 80.9°.

Besides the lack of chill, rain was lacking as well. 2011 finishes up as the third driest on record with an official yearly total of 19.97" liquid. 1917 was the driest for a calendar year with only 16.66", and 1988 was the second driest with 17.80". For prospective, our average rainfall in a year is 40.06".

Additionally, the meteorological spring and summer periods (March 1st to August 31st) were the driest on record with 7.26" of liquid for that six month period.

All in all, it was quite an interesting year. We will keep you updated with all of the weather events that take shape in 2012 here at KAGS-HD.