It was yet another damp day with rainfall earlier this morning and afternoon. The good news is that the rainfall, with the exception of sprinkles through the next few hours, will end later tonight. With a southwesterly flow aloft, expect overcast conditions through most of the night, but a few breaks could be possible late tonight. 

Temperatures have settled into the upper 50s/lower 60s behind a weak front that moved through earlier today. Expect temperatures to slowly fall into the low-mid 50s overnight tonight. North winds will be increasing into the 5-10 mph range late tonight, so if you’re out late, long-sleeves may be needed. It will not be nearly as cold as last year, however, when we were seeing temperatures in the 20s to kick off 2018. 

It appears 2019 will start off nice and seasonal with temperatures getting into the middle 60s. We may actually see some sunshine tomorrow afternoon, which will help temperatures warm. 

The forecast during the Wednesday through Thursday timeframe is rather tricky. We will have an Arctic front stalling over the area. One thing is for certain, rain chances look high both Wednesday night and Thursday as a low pressure area develops in the northwestern Gulf, along with upper-level energy moving over aloft. Both of these features will allow a warm front to move into the state Wednesday and hover there through Thursday. This makes for a complicated temperature forecast as a difference of 50-80 miles could mean a 10-15 temperature differential. East Texas and northwestern Louisiana could hover in the 40s through most of Wednesday and Thursday, while southeastern parts of the state could be in the 60s and 70s. This shallow wedge of Arctic air could setup a winter weather event across central/northern Texas where the air will be much colder. 

The end of the week looks drier with sunshine expected. A warming trend is also expected through the weekend. 

~Meteorologist Trevor Sonnier