textproduct: Midland/Odessa

KEY MESSAGES

Updated at 1249 AM CST Fri Jan 30 2026

- A cold front moves through the area late Friday into early Saturday, keeping temperatures below normal Saturday through Sunday morning.

- Warming trend begins Sunday afternoon lasting through early next week as ridging over the area increases.

SHORT TERM

(Today through Saturday afternoon) Issued at 1249 AM CST Fri Jan 30 2026

A quiet end to the week into early weekend with near seasonable temperatures is expected as ridging from the Pacific Southwest into Great Basin and troughing over the MS Valley into Mid-Atlantic delivers northwest flow aloft and periodic weak cold front passages. Nighttime IR and Fog imagery early this morning depicts mid to high level clouds streaming west to east in quasi-zonal flow aloft, but aside from a few clouds, nothing significant weather wise. This will continue to be the story today, even as highs cool a few degrees from yesterday in the wake of a weak cold front the moved through last evening. Mid to upper 50s F, 40s F higher elevations, and 60s F Stockton Plateau and Rio basin into Terrell County are forecast as skies clear from west to east and winds veer back to southerly. Tonight, dew point temperatures in the 20s, teens higher elevations and Marfa Plateau into higher elevations of the Rio Grande basin and Stockton Plateau amidst light winds allow for overnight cooling that drops temperatures below freezing for most of the area by Saturday morning. The exception will be along the Presidio Valley into Big Bend, where lows stay above freezing. This region will again be the warmest for Saturday with highs rising into the 60s F, but another cold front passage early Saturday morning will again result in cooler temperatures not climbing out of the 60s F north of the Rio Grande basin, and struggling to reach 50 F north of I-20. This will once again allow lows to fall below freezing for Saturday night. Ridging begins to develop east over the area by Sunday and temperatures consequently rise back to near to above average to end the weekend. More on whether this warming trend holds in the long term discussion below.

LONG TERM

(Saturday night through Thursday) Issued at 1249 AM CST Fri Jan 30 2026

The long-term begins with another cold night on Saturday as the surface high pressure keeps the colder air over the region. Low temperatures are expected to be in the upper teens to low 30s placing these temperatures 5-8 degrees below normal for this time of year. A warming trend is in store beginning Sunday afternoon, thanks to an upper-level ridge building in from the west. The upper ridge and surface southerly winds raise temperatures in the 50s Sunday afternoon, then into the 60s to low 70s by Monday and Tuesday afternoons. Tuesday night into Wednesday morning, a cold front is forecast to sweep through the region. Long-range guidance drops temperatures near to slightly below normal (mid 50s to mid 60s). An upper-level trough over the central CONUS will create embedded shortwaves within northwest flow aloft, resulting in low (10-15%) rain chances south of the Interstate 10 corridor Wednesday night through Thursday. Much of the favorable ascent and moisture looks to stay east of the region at the moment, though uncertainty still remains in the positioning of the trough. Details of this system should be ironed out in the next couple of days.

Lamberson

AVIATION

(06Z TAFS) Issued at 1125 PM CST Thu Jan 29 2026

VFR conditions and light winds expected the next 24 hours.

PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS

Big Spring 57 22 42 23 / 0 0 0 0 Carlsbad 54 25 43 25 / 0 0 0 0 Dryden 61 32 53 27 / 0 0 0 0 Fort Stockton 60 29 53 29 / 0 0 0 0 Guadalupe Pass 47 29 43 31 / 0 0 0 0 Hobbs 55 22 42 22 / 0 0 0 0 Marfa 55 24 55 24 / 0 0 0 0 Midland Intl Airport 57 24 44 25 / 0 0 0 0 Odessa 56 25 45 26 / 0 0 0 0 Wink 56 25 45 25 / 0 0 0 0

MAF WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES

TX...None. NM...None.