Overview
- Forecast models, which show the front sweeping Texas on Friday, point to a rapid cooldown that ends the weeklong heat driven by a persistent high-pressure dome.
- Temperatures in the Panhandle will swing hardest, with Amarillo near 100 degrees Thursday before falling into the low 40s by early Friday and Borger tumbling by nearly 60 degrees in the same window.
- Wind will be the main hazard as the front passes, with the National Weather Service and local forecasts calling for 40 to 50 mph gusts across West Texas and lighter but gusty conditions elsewhere.
- Texas A&M Forest Service raised wildfire concern in Central Texas from moderate to high on Wednesday and to high and very high on Thursday as dry fuels, warmth, and wind set the stage for fast spread.
- A separate burst of bright meteors between March 17 and March 24 is being tied by the American Meteor Society to a newly identified Puppis shower, following a rare daytime fireball near Houston that produced a sonic boom and roof-punching debris, with the next regular shower, the Lyrids, due April 17–26.