Spring has sprung across Texas which means warmer afternoons, but also some of that spring time wind.  That's exactly what we will get as we head into the rest of this work week as a strong, southerly wind kicks in helping to move daytime highs into the 80s.

What are we looking for?  Starting Tuesday afternoon, you can expect winds 10-20mph, possibly even gusting around 25mph by the afternoon hour...once we mix the winds down from the upper-levels thanks to plenty of good ol' fashion sunshine.  But, enjoy the breeze today, because it'll be tame compared to the 25-30mph gusts that will be possible starting Wednesday afternoon and lasting through Friday ahead of our next Pacific cold front. 

The key to this wind machine?  A trough of low pressure stretched across West Texas. (The dashed yellow line you see to your right)  Basically, what it is, is a big void in the atmosphere that has developed ahead of next system diving in off the Pacific Northwest.  With that void, Mother Nature fills it with the only thing she can, which is wind.  At the brunt of that wind will be the folks from Abilene to the west where gusts upwards of 40mph will cause relative humidities will drop below 20%, highs to top off around 90 and high fire danger will become a major issue over the next few days.

So put the rocks in your pockets and hold on to your hat from time to time this week as we switch on the fan across the Brazos Valley.

On a side note, a few interesting articles have come out over the past weeks concerning Global Warming and the public's perception of it.  The first article deals with a new study by NASA concluding that the Atlantic "Conveyor Belt" is in fact not slowing down (and there will in fact be a "Day After Tomorrow").  The second is an interesting study on the disagreement between Climatologists and Broadcast Meteorologists on the reality of Global Warming.  So, if you have some time to kill, just a few interesting reads for you this Tuesday afternoon.