A weak mountain wave yielded a brief (< 1hr) period of high winds in the Guadalupe Mountains.
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The episode as NWS MAF wrote it up.
A weak mountain wave yielded a brief (< 1hr) period of high winds in the Guadalupe Mountains.
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 1, 3:23 AM CST, 1 hour 19 minutes earlier. Its key messages:
Area Forecast Discussion
National Weather Service Midland/Odessa TX
323 AM CST Thu Jan 1 2026
...New SHORT TERM, LONG TERM...
.KEY MESSAGES...
Updated at 323 AM CST Thu Jan 1 2026
- Breezy conditions will develop across much of west Texas and
southeast New Mexico today and Friday. A brief period of high
winds will impact the Guadalupe Mountains this afternoon and
evening.
- Unseasonably warm temperatures will prevail through at least
the middle of next week.
&&
.SHORT TERM...
(Today through Friday afternoon)
Issued at 323 AM CST Thu Jan 1 2026
An upper-level ridge continues to build across southeast New
Mexico and west Texas well in advance of an upper-level storm
system centered off the California coast early this morning.
Abundant high level cloud cover is streaming into much of our
forecast area ahead of this system early this morning but dry
weather conditions otherwise prevail. The Midland International
Air and Space Port officially ended the year with only 7.41" of
recorded precipitation, which makes 2025 the 6th driest year on
record.
The upper-level ridge will shift to the east of our region and
weaken today and will be replaced by a more zonal flow pattern
aloft. A weak shortwave impulse embedded within the westerly flow
pattern will translate across our region today and will bring an
enhancement in moisture, mainly in the form of thickening
mid/high level cloud cover. There may be enough boundary layer
moisture and weak ascent to support the development of a few very
light rain showers west of the Pecos River this morning into early
this afternoon. Surface low pressure will deepen over the vicinity
of the Texas and Oklahoma panhandles this afternoon with the
surface trough axis trailing through much of our forecast area.
The increasing pressure gradient will result in breezy westerly
winds over much of our forecast area today. Increasing mid level
winds with the passing shortwave and a weak mountain wave
signature will result in a brief period of high winds in the
Guadalupe Mountains late this morning into early this evening. We
have upgraded the High Wind Watch to a Warning there for potential
sustained speeds of 35-45 mph with some gusts up to 60-65 mph. The
shortwave trough passes to our east tonight and we expect clearing
skies in the wake of this feature. Another shortwave trough
arrives within W-NW flow aloft on Friday. No moisture will be
associated with this feature, but there is potential for another
round of increased wind speeds approaching high wind criteria in
the Guadalupe Mountains. Later shifts will assess the need for
another High Wind Warning. The surface gradient also increases
over much of the CWA again Friday as another surface low takes
shape over the Texas panhandle. Another breezy day can be expected
over much of the region on Friday with W-NW winds up to 20-30 mph
with higher gusts. High temperatures trend about 10-15 degrees
above normal across the area today and Friday with readings in the
70s over much of the area except for 60s in the higher elevation
areas and in the lower 80s along the Rio Grande and portions of
the Lower Trans Pecos. Lows tonight will be mild for early January
with readings in the 40s and 50s.
&&
.LONG TERM...
(Friday night through Wednesday)
Issued at 323 AM CST Thu Jan 1 2026
A weak cold front will move into our area Friday night into early
Saturday morning but quickly becomes diffuse by Saturday
afternoon. Temperatures on Saturday may be about 3-5 degrees
cooler than Friday behind the front, but still above normal.
Upper-level ridging will build over our forecast area late this
weekend and persist into Monday. The flow aloft becomes more
southwesterly Tuesday into Wednesday ahead of the next trough
moving into the Desert Southwest. This next system could bring
increased moisture/lift into our area next Wednesday or Wednesday
night depending on the timing of this system, but confidence in
meaningful rain chances is very low at this time. Temperatures
will remain about 10-15 degrees above normal late this weekend
into the early to middle part of next week.
&&
.AVIATION...
(06Z TAFS)
Issued at 1013 PM CST Wed Dec 31 2025
VFR continues as westerly winds become gusty (25-30 kts) by
afternoon.
&&
.PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS...
Big Spring 73 51 76 42 / 0 0 0 0
Carlsbad 68 49 71 40 / 20 0 0 0
Dryden 78 53 82 50 / 0 0 0 0
Fort Stockton 76 55 76 47 / 10 0 0 0
Guadalupe Pass 60 45 61 40 / 20 0 0 0
Hobbs 70 45 71 42 / 10 0 0 0
Marfa 68 39 66 34 / 10 0 0 0
Midland Intl Airport 71 51 74 44 / 0 0 0 0
Odessa 70 51 72 45 / 0 0 0 0
Wink 72 49 74 42 / 10 0 0 0
&&
.MAF WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
TX...High Wind Warning from noon CST /11 AM MST/ today to 9 PM CST /8
PM MST/ this evening for Guadalupe Mountains Above 7000
Feet-Guadalupe and Delaware Mountains.
NM...High Wind Warning from 11 AM this morning to 8 PM MST this
evening for Guadalupe Mountains of Eddy County.
&&
SHORT TERM...21
LONG TERM....21
AVIATION...29The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
1 high wind. Local standard time, as filed.
The West Texas Mesonet station at Pine Springs measured a non-thunderstorm wind gust of 58 mph, as well as sustained winds up to 40 mph within Guadalupe Mountains National Park.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Texas in 2026Every state in 2026This day in weather historyWarnings in Texas, January 2026
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: 1300578.