442 FXUS64 KAMA 141642 AAA AFDAMAArea Forecast Discussion...UPDATED National Weather Service Amarillo TX 1142 AM CDT Sun Sep 14 2025
.KEY MESSAGES... Issued at 1142 AM CDT Sun Sep 14 2025
- Thunderstorms will be possible this afternoon and into the early evening, primarily in the eastern/northeastern Panhandles. A few thunderstorms may become severe with large hail and damaging winds being the primary hazards. Although the chance is low, cannot rule out localized flooding.
- Fog will be possible late tonight and into early Monday morning across the central Panhandles.
- Thunderstorm potential returns Tuesday night, Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday. The probability for severe thunderstorms is low at this time.
&&
.SHORT TERM... (This afternoon through Monday night) Issued at 1142 AM CDT Sun Sep 14 2025
An upper-level trough, currently centered over the central Rockies, will lift north-northeastward throughout the day with upper-level winds over the Panhandles turning west-northwesterly. Meanwhile, showers and isolated thunderstorms are ongoing in the eastern Panhandles with low clouds present over the southern Texas Panhandle as of mid-morning.
A surface trough is expected to develop across a portion of the eastern/central Panhandles this afternoon, and destabilization will occur east of the boundary. A source of uncertainty will be regarding the clouds that persist over the southern Texas Panhandle, and how long they will hold into the afternoon. If the clouds persist too long, destabilization may not be sufficient for thunderstorm development to occur. Thunderstorms are more favored in the eastern/northeastern Panhandles this afternoon where cloud cover was not a factor this morning, and is the area that is expected to have the more favorable forcing. MLCAPE values between 1000 J/kg to 2000 J/kg is expected with effective shear between 30 to 40 kts, suggesting multicell clusters and some supercells will be possible. Mid-level lapse rates are weak, but given the favorable wind shear and instability, hail up to the size of half dollars will be possible. Larger hailstones cannot be ruled out if greater instability verifies, particularly if a supercell can tap into greater instability. Wind gusts up to 60 mph will be possible with any thunderstorm or multicellular cluster, but a wind gust up to 70 mph could occur with a well-organized supercell or multicell. Additionally, a few CAMs suggest there could be training thunderstorms along an outflow boundary this evening as the low- level jet strengthens. Should this occur, localized flooding cannot be ruled out. Thunderstorm activity should cease in the eastern Panhandles by the mid to late evening hours. Fog may develop across the central Texas Panhandle, potentially stretching as far north as Guymon and as far west as Dalhart. This fog could potentially be dense at times. Fog should dissipate by around 9 to 10 AM.
Temperatures will warm across the Panhandles on Monday as the upper- level trough continues to depart and heights aloft will rise slightly which implies subsidence. Although forcing will be weak to non-existent, won`t be able to rule out a few brief thunderstorms in the eastern Panhandles as temperatures reach or exceed convective temperatures. Given the uncertainties, will not add it to the forecast at this time given low confidence in thunderstorm development but it may be warranted in future forecast packages.
Vanden Bosch
&&
.LONG TERM... (Tuesday through next Saturday) Issued at 1118 AM CDT Sun Sep 14 2025
An upper-level trough will move into the Northern Plains on Tuesday with a shortwave trough ejecting from the Intermountain West into Colorado. Embedded disturbances along with diffluent flow aloft will bring thunderstorm potential back into the forecast for Tuesday night. A weak front along with at least partly cloudy skies could work into the northern Panhandles Wednesday morning before the front retreats. The stronger forcing associated with the shortwave trough will bring in another chance for showers and thunderstorms Wednesday afternoon and Wednesday night. Strong to severe thunderstorm potential seems low at this point, though it will depend upon the amount of instability able to be realized.
Model guidance begins to diverge regarding the large-scale pattern, but generally there is some agreement that an upper-level ridge will try to build in the Western US with troughiness continuing in the northern/central Plains, leading shortwave troughs/disturbances into the Panhandles. Therefore, shower and thunderstorm potential could continue into the rest of the work week.
Vanden Bosch
&&
.AVIATION... (18Z TAFS) Issued at 1142 AM CDT Sun Sep 14 2025
MVFR ceilings continue at KAMA, but should lift to VFR by around 18z to 19z. Will have to watch for potential development of fog at KAMA late tonight starting around 09z. KDHT and KGUY could also see fog, but confidence is relatively lower. Regardless, have left mentions of fog out of the TAFs for now but may need to be added if the signal continues to show.
&&
.AMA WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... TX...None. OK...None. &&
$$
SHORT TERM...52 LONG TERM....52 AVIATION...52
NWS AMA Office Area Forecast Discussion