Forecaster Landry Judd

01/03/2026

Not only is the Sun closest to the Earth today, but the Moon is coincidently as well, known as Perigee. The last time Perihelion and Perigee occurred on the same day was back in 1912! The next will occur in 2045!

Unfortunately, mostly overcast conditions tonight will be a nuisance to local astrophotographers wanting to take photos of the Supermoon.

Checking out our nearest star at Solar Noon!

Today, our earth is at it’s closest elliptical orbital distance from the sun, called perihelion. At approximately 11:15 AM CST, our planet will be about 91.4 million miles away, compared to aphelion in July, when our earth is about 94.5 million miles away from the sun.

“Day length today: 9h 51m 40s (Jan 3, 2026)
40 seconds longer than yesterday (Jan 2, 2026)
4 minutes, 38 seconds longer than winter solstice (Dec 21, 2025)”

01/03/2026

Saturday, January 3: Perfect weather for the outdoors this afternoon!

Not too often we get balmy temperatures, pristine skies, and light winds this part of the year! So, enjoy it while it lasts!

01/03/2026

Saturday, January 3:
Elevated fire risk tomorrow, spanning parts of E. NM into the Western combined Panhandles Sunday afternoon!

The overlap of well-above normal temperatures, strong southwesterly/down sloping winds, dearth of moisture, and worsening snow/precipitation deficits will allow fires to start and spread quickly!

01/03/2026

January 3, 2026:

Another pleasantly warm afternoon is in the cards Sunday! However, the drawback will be high winds, dry conditions, and mostly cloudy skies.
Dry and breezy weather will promote heightened fire weather concerns Sunday afternoon.

12/29/2025

Sunday, December 28:

The winds are weak, but given current temperatures in the 20's and teens, wind chills continue to reduce. Several locations are sampling wind chill values in the lower teens! Liberal, and the rest of southwestern Kansas are experiencing single digit wind chills!

Given the current cooling rate, we not only may see single digit wind chills fill more broadly into the northern TX Panhandle, but perhaps a few negatives in our far northern viewing region.

Remember wind chills are not a measure of the absolute temperatures, but rather the apparent temperature relative to a human body. In other words, what it "feels-like" outside.

12/29/2025

Sunday, December 28:

Long Form Discussion Post:

Where did today's cold front come from?

With the HYSPLIT model, we can see the most likely journeys individual air parcels underwent from their starting point to the time they reached Amarillo this morning.

Starting on December 26, we can see that the air that came into Amarillo Today first originated across East/Central Asia before moving north and rising over Siberia and Alaska, becoming extremely cold and dry.

However, the frigid Siberian airmass thereafter becomes modified as it is forced to sink and move over the Pacific downstream of a ridge, likely warming and moistening some.

After, the air is passed through a trough of low pressure in the W. U.S. and forced to rise, cool, and further moisten. The parcels then descend into the northern and central plains picking up more cold air before being transported southward into the greater coverage area via strong northerly winds.

The bottom-line: This cold front was technically not a pure "artic" front due to the the long duration and large modifications it underwent. This probably kept our temperatures slightly warmer than they could have been in addition to the residual soil heat from the past several days.

For a true artic front, we want to see purely north-to-south trajectories entirely over land, with little vertical displacements, and limited movement over any mountain ranges.

12/28/2025

Sunday, December 28:

Although winds will be much slower Monday afternoon, they will still be largely out of the north direction, which will bestow yet another chilly evening in the 40's. The sinking air associated with the continued transport of dense cold and dry air will suppress most cloud cover Monday afternoon.

12/28/2025

Sunday, December 28:

As forecasted, a strong and well past due cold front moved through early Sunday morning, ending the extensive streak of atypically warm conditions. Temperatures behind the front dropped 30 to (in some spots) 40 degrees from yesterday, leaving us in the 30's and 40's.

Strong due northerly winds occurred in concert with the southward advancement of the front. Frequent gusts in the upper 20's into the 30's have persisted through the afternoon with several rogue gusts surpassing 40 mph at times.

Thankfully winds drastically subside through tonight as the front continues its push southward.

12/27/2025

Saturday, December 27:

Both Liberal, KS and Childress, TX broke their respective daily high temperatures this afternoon (red dots)! This is based on a 65-year historical period.

12/27/2025

Saturday, December 27:

Another late December evening featuring unusually warm temperatures! Like the previous several days, most spots in the coverage area are experiencing high temperatures 20-30 degrees above normal!

Savor this balmy and quiescent weather today, as it all comes to an end Sunday following a strong and well past due cold front.

12/27/2025

Saturday, December 27:

Flurries and light snow are possible early Sunday morning just behind the surface cold front, with "highest" chances relegated to the north/northwestern coverage area. A few flurries are possible across western OK Panhandle, far northwestern TX Panhandle, and southwestern Kansas. However, no accumulations are expected given the dry low levels, warm surface, and poor snowfall rates.

The most optimal region for the greatest snowfall rates and accumulations will be in extreme northwestern Union County, New Mexico due to higher elevation and orographic convergence/lift. Accumulations up to an inch or slightly greater is a decent possibility in that area.

12/27/2025

Saturday, December 27:

A strong cold front late tonight/early tomorrow morning will remind us of what season we are truly in! We are expected to reach our high temperatures close to midnight Sunday, followed by a steady cooldown into the 30's and 40's through the afternoon and evening. We will remain entrenched behind the cold front through Monday, with a continuation of afternoon temperatures in the 30's and 40's. Robust northerly winds of 20-35 mph are anticipated as well, dropping wind chills into the 20's especially during the overnights and mornings.