


Area Forecast Discussion
Issued by NWS Amarillo, TX
Issued by NWS Amarillo, TX
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789 FXUS64 KAMA 241740 AFDAMA Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Amarillo TX 1240 PM CDT Sat May 24 2025 ...New AVIATION... .KEY MESSAGES... Issued at 120 AM CDT Sat May 24 2025 - Severe weather today and tomorrow, most likely in the south and eastern Panhandles. - Daily chances of thunderstorms Monday through at least Thursday with slightly below average temperatures. && .SHORT TERM... (Today through Sunday night) Issued at 120 AM CDT Sat May 24 2025 Yesterday ended up pretty quiet. Lift was too late and we didn`t clear out early enough. Moisture was limited, despite dynamics aloft being pretty primed. Current dryline is set up in the eastern Panhandles and we expect a surface low to track across the northern to central Panhandles overnight tonight and into the early afternoon tomorrow. By then it looks to have settled somewhere in the southeast Panhandle. Cooler air and northerly flow is expected to take place for much of the Panhandles north of I-40. The warm and moist sector is anticipated to be along and south of I-40, and likely east of I-27. Best window of opportunity for a storm looks to be in the 7-10 pm time frame. It is possible that the low is far enough south that it is more in the Childress area and that our area yet again could miss out on storms, but still feel at least that a 30% chance is in play for a storm to be in the southeast. Overall, we have good shear and instability and low level turning that if a storm manages to develop, it would likely be severe and all hazards are certainly in play. Given the ample CAPE 2500-4000 J/kg available to work with, max hail size could certainly range from Golf ball to Baseball. Now the northern Panhandle Saturday night will be another story. Overall, the north may be under low clouds and northerly winds all day. In fact the highs are still highly up for debate, as NBM continues to give highs around 80, and this just seems way out there, as northerly winds and low level moisture is likely to hold in place most of the day. There`s a small window in the 2-4pm when we might break out before the low clouds come right back in, and it just seems unlikely that we pass the low 70s as highs for the Oklahoma Panhandles. If the low clouds persist, the more likely scenario would be mid 60s for the highs. Additionally, storms that fire off in the southeast could send an outflow to the northwest and collide with a deepening saturated low level, that may reach the top of the inversion, and at that point with the lift from the outflow, there`s a chance for a midnight to 2am elevated storm to pop up, which will likely be just a hail threat, but would still have enough instability and shear to be severe. Sunday, this continued low level moisture is expected to hold all day in the north and highs could be well below normal. NBM only has mid 60s to lower 70s for the Oklahoma Panhandle. A strong temperature gradient is expected as well around the central Panhandles as that is where the stationary front is looking to set up, now this could shift a bit further south of I-40. This will be the area to watch for the severe threat on Sunday, as areas south of the boundary will be rich in moisture and should have ample heating to reach the convective temperatures. Additionally, we have an upper level trough to the southwest providing enhanced lift in the mid levels, with a potential shortwave to coincide with peak heating. CAMs are certainly supporting multiple supercells along the stationary boundary and expanding into a cluster later in the evening. ML CAPE values in the warm sector range from 3000-4500 J/kg, and with ample shear to support supercells, these storm will be capable of all hazards and certainly could support baseball to softball sized hail. Further north will remain fairly stable and under a very strong cap, therefore most likely cool and damp with low clouds and drizzle being the expectation. Of course if this stationary boundary sets up further north, that changes all of that, but it seems more likely that the boundary will be further south. Major caveat to all of this, is the daily convection that occurs to the north in KS and east in OK. These outflow boundaries and storms can play havoc with the overall setup, and that can be from shifting the stationary boundary to stabilizing an area in the warm sector so that it`s too capped to convect the next day. So there`s a lot of moving parts that can signficantly modify the level of the severe risk and the locations of the severe risk. Weber && .LONG TERM... (Monday through Friday) Issued at 120 AM CDT Sat May 24 2025 Monday through Thursday we will continue the chances at showers and storms on a daily basis, severe weather is certainly on the table each day. PWAT`s gradually work their way up each day through Thursday, overall the eastern Panhandles could see rain amounts in the 1.50-2.50" range and areas to the west look to be in the 0.25- 1.50" range. For the most part temperatures look to be below normal, at least through Wednesday, with temperatures getting closer to normal on Thursday and Friday. Friday still could have showers and storms, but it`s at this point that models diverge and suggest that we could be transitioning to a drier solution, but the potential for showers and storms is certainly on the table for Friday, if the pattern persists. Weber && .AVIATION... (18Z TAFS) Issued at 1227 PM CDT Sat May 24 2025 VFR conditions expected to start the TAF period. MVFR/IFR cigs should occur at KDHT/KGUY starting between 06-09Z and remain within these levels throughout the remainder of the TAF period. KAMA could also see sub VFR cigs, but confidence is too low to include in TAF at this time. Winds will be variable at 5-15 kts. && .PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS... Amarillo TX 59 79 56 73 / 10 50 90 40 Beaver OK 57 71 52 67 / 40 40 90 50 Boise City OK 52 66 49 67 / 30 40 90 50 Borger TX 60 79 57 74 / 20 40 90 40 Boys Ranch TX 58 79 55 75 / 10 40 90 40 Canyon TX 60 81 55 76 / 10 40 70 30 Clarendon TX 62 82 58 75 / 20 50 90 40 Dalhart TX 54 73 50 71 / 10 40 90 40 Guymon OK 55 69 50 68 / 30 40 100 50 Hereford TX 59 83 55 77 / 10 40 70 30 Lipscomb TX 59 75 56 68 / 30 40 90 50 Pampa TX 60 78 57 71 / 20 50 90 50 Shamrock TX 63 83 59 73 / 20 40 90 40 Wellington TX 63 84 59 75 / 30 50 90 50 && .AMA WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... TX...None. OK...None. && $$ SHORT TERM...89 LONG TERM....89 AVIATION...29