A cold front swept south across the Permian Basin during the morning of the 26th bringing strong northwest winds. Measured wind gusts were generally between 40 and 50 MPH as recorded by area ASOS sites and the Texas Mesonet.
Every event with a place to put it; 2 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. Tap one for its entry below.
Deaths and injuries are direct and indirect together, as the offices filed them. Damage is property and crops in the dollars of the year, not adjusted for inflation, and only where an office estimated it.
The episode as NWS MAF wrote it up.
A cold front swept south across the Permian Basin during the morning of the 26th bringing strong northwest winds. Measured wind gusts were generally between 40 and 50 MPH as recorded by area ASOS sites and the Texas Mesonet. Minor roof damage was sustained to a business in Midland. In Odessa, the winds sent roof debris flying off of two businesses, a few large signs were blown down, and a couple of power poles were damaged.
The local office's own words before the first event, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.
NWS Midland/Odessa, TX wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Jan 26, 4:00 AM CST, 4 hours earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MIDLAND/ODESSA TX
400 AM CST MON JAN 26 2004
.SHORT TERM...
A FAIRLY SIGNIFICANT SHORTWAVE TROUGH OVER CENTRAL NEW MEXICO THIS
MORNING WILL BEGIN TO TRANSLATE EAST THIS MORNING. IN RESPONSE...
ASSOCIATED SURFACE ANTICYCLOGENESIS CONTINUES OVER THE CENTRAL HIGH
PLAINS...WITH PRESSURE RISES /MODULATED BY THE MINIMUM PHASE OF THE
SEMIDIURNAL PRESSURE OSCILLATION/ ON THE ORDER OF 1MB/HR ACROSS
WESTERN KANSAS AND EASTERN COLORADO SOUTH INTO THE TEXAS PANHANDLE.
A SURFACE COLD FRONT EXTENDED FROM NORTHEASTERN NEW MEXICO SOUTHEAST
TO JUST NORTH OF KLBB...THEN FROM THERE EAST INTO THE RED RIVER
VALLEY.
CURRENT OBSERVATIONS AT THE BOWL AND AT KGDP ARE WITHIN HIGH WIND
WARNING CRITERIA...AND WIND AND GRADIENT FORECASTS OVER THIS AREA
SUPPORT CONTINUING THE HIGH WIND WARNING THIS MORNING. CROSS
SECTIONS OF WIND/OMEGA/AGEO VERT CIRC NORMAL TO THE GUADALUPES SHOW A
DECAY IN THE MOUNTAIN WAVE SIGNATURE BY 15Z...AND WE EXPECT WINDS TO
DIMINISH TO BELOW WARNING CRITERIA BY 18Z.
DEEP LAYER LIFT ASSOCIATED WITH THE AFOREMENTIONED SHORTWAVE TROUGH
ALONG WITH SOME MID LEVEL MOISTURE WILL RESULT IN ISOLD -SHRA ACROSS
THE NORTHERN CWFA THIS MORNING. MOST OF THIS WILL BE VIRGA...BUT A
FEW FORTUNATE LOCATIONS MIGHT PICK UP A HUNDREDTH BEFORE THE PRECIP
ENDS LATER THIS MORNING.
THE COLD FRONT WILL CONTINUE TRANSLATING SOUTH THIS MORNING...
ENTERING THE NORTHERN CWFA BEFORE SUNRISE AND PASSING ACROSS THE RIO
BRAVO DEL NORTE BY MID TO LATE AFTERNOON. GRADIENT AND ISALLOBARIC
EFFECTS WILL KEEP POST-FRONTAL WINDS UP NEAR ADVISORY CRITERION
ACROSS THE PLAINS THIS MORNING. THESE WINDS WILL LIKELY LOFT SOME
DIRT FROM THE SOUTH PLAINS COTTON FIELDS...RESULTING IN AREAS OF
BLDU FROM THE NORTHERN PERMIAN BASIN EAST ACROSS THE WESTERN LOW
ROLLING PLAINS. WE SHOULD ALSO SEE SOME POST-FRONTAL STRATOCU OVER
MAINLY NORTHEASTERN ZONES THIS AFTERNOON. COLD AIR ADVECTION BEHIND
THE FRONT WILL KEEP TEMPERATURES SOME 5 TO 10 DEGREES BELOW SUNDAYS
HIGHS.
FOR TONIGHT...ANTICYCLOGENESIS WILL TRANSLATE EAST INTO THE LOWER
MISSISSIPPI VALLEY...AND THE SURFACE GRADIENT WILL RELAX AS HIGH
PRESSURE SETTLES INTO THE REGION. NEARLY IDEAL RADIATIVE CONDITIONS
ARE EXPECTED TONIGHT GIVEN LIGHT WINDS...MOSTLY CLEAR SKIES...AND
VERY LOW DEWPOINTS. TEMPERATURES SHOULD FALL INTO THE UPPER TEENS TO
THE MID 20S ACROSS THE NORTHERN CWFA...WITH HIGHER READINGS EXPECTED
ACROSS THE LOWER TRANS PECOS.
.LONG TERM...
BENIGN CONDITIONS ARE EXPECTED TO PERSIST THROUGH THE LONG TERM.
THEREFORE CHANGES TO THE ONGOING GRIDS/FORECAST WERE MINOR TONIGHT.
A FEW TEMP/SKY GRIDS HAVE BEEN TRENDED TO ACCOUNT FOR EFFECTS OF TWO
SHORTWAVE TROUGHS PROGGED TO IMPACT THE AREA. OTHERWISE EXPECT DRY
WEATHER WITH NEAR SEASONAL AVERAGE TEMPERATURES.
NORTHWEST FLOW ALOFT WILL TRANSITION TO NEAR ZONAL DURING THE DAY
TUESDAY. LEE TROUGHING AND TEMPERATURE MODERATION WILL RESULT
THROUGH WEDNESDAY.
HIGH CLOUDS WILL BE ON THE INCREASE LATE WEDNESDAY AS THE NEXT
SHORTWAVE TROUGH APPROACHES. THIS FEATURE WILL AMPLIFY AS IT PASSES
OVERHEAD THURSDAY. ASSOCIATED SURFACE FRONT WILL PASS THROUGH THE
AREA EARLY THURSDAY...BUT POST FRONTAL AIRMASS APPEARS TO BE MORE
PACIFIC IN NATURE AND THE SIGNIFICANTLY COLDER AIR REMAINS WELL
NORTH ACROSS THE NORTHERN PLAINS AND THE UPPER MID WEST.
LEE TROUGHING SHOULD BE ESTABLISHED AGAIN BY FRIDAY WITH AN
ASSOCIATED WARM UP. A SIMILAR PROGRESSIVE SHORTWAVE TROUGH WILL
PROPAGATE ACROSS THE SOUTHERN PLAINS LATE SATURDAY/EARLY SUNDAY
BRINGING A FRONT SOUTH ACROSS THE AREA SUNDAY.
&&
.PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS...
BIG SPRING TX 49 22 52 30 / 10 0 0 0
CARLSBAD NM 50 22 58 30 / 10 0 0 0
DRYDEN TX 58 29 57 34 / 0 0 0 0
FORT STOCKTON TX 55 26 55 33 / 0 0 0 0
GUADALUPE PASS TX 45 29 51 31 / 10 0 0 0
HOBBS NM 51 20 56 28 / 10 0 0 0
MARFA TX 52 21 53 22 / 0 0 0 0
MIDLAND INTL AIRPORT TX 51 21 52 30 / 10 0 0 0
ODESSA TX 51 20 53 30 / 10 0 0 0
WINK TX 54 22 57 29 / 10 0 0 0
&&
.MAF WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
TX...HIGH WIND WARNING THIS MORNING FOR THE GUADALUPE MOUNTAINS OF
WEST TEXAS...TXZ258.
NM...HIGH WIND WARNING THIS MORNING FOR THE GUADALUPE MOUNTAINS OF
EDDY COUNTY...NMZ027.
&&
70/10HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK...CORRECTED NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MIDLAND/ODESSA TX 407 AM CST MON JAN 26 2004 NMZ027>029-033-034-TXZ045>048-050>053-057>063-067>070-074-075- 079>082-258-262100- ANDREWS-BIG BEND AREA-BORDEN-CENTRAL LEA COUNTY-CRANE- DAVIS/APACHE MOUNTAINS AREA-DAWSON-ECTOR-EDDY COUNTY PLAINS-GAINES- GLASSCOCK-GUADALUPE MOUNTAINS-GUADALUPE MOUNTAINS OF EDDY COUNTY- HOWARD-LOVING-MARFA PLATEAU-MARTIN-MIDLAND-MITCHELL- NORTHERN LEA COUNTY-PECOS-PRESIDIO VALLEY-REAGAN- REEVES COUNTY AND UPPER TRANS PECOS-SCURRY-SOUTHERN LEA COUNTY- TERRELL-UPTON-VAN HORN AND HIGHWAY 54 CORRIDOR-WARD-WINKLER- 407 AM CST (307 AM MST) MON JAN 26 2004 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR WEST TEXAS AND SOUTHEASTERN NEW MEXICO. .DAY ONE...TODAY AN UPPER LEVEL DISTURBANCE WILL MOVE OVER THE SOUTHERN PLAINS THIS MORNING. THIS DISTURBANCE WILL MAINTAIN A TIGHT PRESSURE GRADIENT ACROSS WEST TEXAS AND SOUTHEASTERN NEW MEXICO...RESULTING IN GUSTY WEST TO NORTHWEST WINDS ACROSS MUCH OF THE REGION. THESE WINDS WILL BE STRONG THIS MORNING ACROSS THE GUADALUPE MOUNTAINS...WHERE WEST TO SOUTHWEST WINDS OF 40 TO 50 MPH...AND WIND GUSTS NEAR HURRICANE FORCE...ARE POSSIBLE. A HIGH WIND WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 11 AM MST TODAY FOR THE GUADALUPE MOUNTAINS OF WEST TEXAS AND SOUTHEASTERN NEW MEXICO. THESE WINDS WILL BEGIN TO DIMINISH THIS AFTERNOON AS THE PRESSURE GRADIENT WEAKENS. OTHERWISE...NO OTHER HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED TODAY THROUGH TONIGHT. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...TUESDAY THROUGH SUNDAY THE PROBABILITY FOR WIDESPREAD HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS LOW. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS NOT EXPECTED. THIS PRODUCT...ALONG WITH OTHER WATCHES...WARNINGS...ADVISORIES...AND STATEMENTS ISSUED BY THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE OFFICE IN MIDLAND CAN BE FOUND ON THE INTERNET AT HTTP://WWW.SRH.NOAA.GOV/MAF.
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
2 strong wind. Local standard time, as filed.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Texas in 2004Every state in 2004This day in weather historyWarnings in Texas, January 2004
NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database, compiled from the National Weather Service’s monthly Storm Data. Complete through 2026-06; NCEI adds each month about 75 days after it ends and revises past years a few times a year. Rebuilt 2026-09-24. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 5382082, 5382083.