Marine Weather and Tide Forecast for Matador, TX

SHORT TERM
(Rest of tonight through Wednesday night)
Issued at 1030 PM CDT Tue Mar 17 2026

After Tuesday's breezy winds, forecast challenges dwindle for Wednesday as a surface trough sags south during the morning ahead of a light NNE wind shift. Northwest flow aloft will trend more anticyclonic through the day as ample height rises (+80 meters in 24 hours) herald the approach of considerably hotter air later this week. Even as dewpoints climb into the lower 20s during the day on light northeast winds, high temps will soar into the 80s areawide as 850-700 mb temps undergo continued warming. Low temps in the 40s look good Wednesday night with such dry promoting a healthy diurnal temp curve.

LONG TERM
(Thursday through next Tuesday)
Issued at 1030 PM CDT Tue Mar 17 2026

A toasty end to spring break remains in the cards as an unusually strong mid- and upper-level anticyclone wobbles from southern CA on Thursday to southern AZ for Friday before flattening this weekend as zonal flow overspreads the CONUS. Heights continue climbing on Thursday before plateauing on Friday as the upper high begins its slow decay; however, 850-700 mb temps are forecast to keep rising, with 700 mb temps reaching a sweltering peak of 14-15°C near the TX/NM border Saturday afternoon. Pending the timing of a cold front on Sunday, Saturday should be our peak for heat and the final day of record highs. Interestingly, Lubbock's forecast high of 97 on Saturday would be its hottest March temperature ever. One concern is that if Sunday's cold front slows any further, our area could fall in the dreaded pre-frontal/compressional warming zone on Sunday resulting in more record heat. This uncertainty in timing is supported by maxT ensemble standard deviations up to 12 in the Texas Panhandle. Confidence is better in highs closer to normal (70s) by Monday following the front.

AVIATION
(06Z TAFS)
Issued at 1137 PM CDT Tue Mar 17 2026

VFR and light winds will continue.

LUB WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES
None.