223 FXUS64 KLUB 032055 AFDLUB Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Lubbock TX 255 PM CST Sun Feb 3 2019 .DISCUSSION... Winds have over-performed this afternoon but temperatures are right where they were expected to be resulting in a warm, if a little windy, early February day. Wind speeds should relax after sunset and will let current Wind Advisory run through until 00Z. Latest iteration of operational model suite continued drying trend noted by last few shifts with mainly wsw flow aloft and a cold front by Thursday. A shot of cold air in wake of lead short wave now moving northeast across upper midwest will remain north and east of Texas. NAM was hinting that some of this cold air might backdoor into the SE panhandle Monday night or Tuesday and while that remains a possibility, no other solutions are biting. The colder airmass to the NE will already be retreating by Tuesday afternoon as increasing SW flow spreads over southern plains in advance of closed mid level low dropping southeast across the Great Basin. This low will open and shift east across the Rockies on Wednesday and with veered low level flow ahead of associated cold front, precipitation looks unlikely for all except perhaps the Rolling Plains. Went ahead and hung onto low end pops for showers Wednesday night when best window of lift/moisture occurs but amounts certainly look light. Cold front will clear the forecast area on Thursday and while this is another glancing blow of colder air, it will be clear and quite dry in front's wake and likely allow for low temperatures down into the teens on the caprock for both Friday and Saturday mornings before temperatures moderate next weekend. In the meantime, warm and breezy to windy afternoons will prevail through Wednesday with Wednesday probably the day with the strongest winds as low level gradients tighten in advance of western US storm. Went above blended winds Monday through Wednesday. Looking beyond this 7-day forecast period, CPC continues to advertise increased chances of above normal precipitation in the 8-14 day outlook through the end of the month. A cursory glance at our operational models do not currently indicate anything interesting at this point, but perhaps that will change over the next several days. Of course, keep in mind average precipitation for the forecast area in February for Lubbock is only 0.75 inch. JW && .FIRE WEATHER... Surface dewpoints look to remain high enough to keep afternoon relative humidity 20% or higher, but breezy to windy afternoons could lead to elevated fire weather conditions each afternoon of Monday through Wednesday, particularly across the western South Plains and SW Panhandle. && .LUB WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... Wind Advisory until 6 PM CST this evening for TXZ021>024. && $$ 13/99