Get those cups of hot chocolate and coffee ready.
A pre-winter cold front will make its way through the Rio Grande Valley later tonight and early Thursday, bringing some frigid temperatures along with it.
The temperatures will hover around the 40s and 50s on Thursday and the upper 30s and 40s on Friday, said Julie Lesko, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Brownsville.
The cold front will push through the Valley sometime between midnight and early Thursday morning.
“Wednesday night into Thursday night is when we are really going to see that stronger front come through and really push through the area by sometime Thursday morning or mid-morning,” Lesko said.
There is also a chance of rain.
The temperatures will start out Thursday morning in the upper 50s and lower 60s but then will drop throughout the day and remain steady between the 40s and 50s. Factor in the blustery winds, and the “feel like” temperatures will be at the low 40s.
“For most people going to work or sending their kids to school (on Thursday,) it could actually be warmer in the morning than when they actually go to pick them up or get off work in the evening,” she said. “We are going to feel temperatures fall by about a good 10 degrees through the day.”
It will feel much colder Friday as the coldest air continues to push its way across the Valley and will have temperatures hovering in the 30s and 40s.
“That doesn’t include the wind chill. That is just the cold air that is coming behind the front as the high pressure builds in the region, with the wind chills we are definitely looking at a little bit colder” temperatures, Lesko said.
“Instead of feeling temperatures maybe around the mid-40s, it might feel like it’s in the lower 40s,” Lesko said. On Friday, “we could see temperatures feeling like they are right in the mid-30s.”
There’s also a 60 percent chance of showers Thursday and a 50 percent chance of showers Friday. The rain chances will pretty much mimic the off and on drizzle some parts of the Valley experienced this past Sunday.
Lesko advised residents to prepare to dress warmly Thursday and Friday.
“It’s already going to be cool on Thursday morning, just be prepared, though, for it to be even colder on Thursday afternoon. Maybe have an extra jacket or maybe an extra sweater … some people may even want a scarf or gloves depending on how sensitive they are to the cold,” she said.
Although the temperatures will warm up Saturday and Sunday, another push of cold air could impact the Valley early next week.
