After a rainy start to summer, the Midland-Odessa area is looking at a hot and mostly dry weekend. A high-pressure system building from the southeastern U.S. is expected to block any significant rainfall, keeping the skies mostly sunny and temperatures near triple digits.
“There’s a high-pressure system building from the southeastern U.S. to the west, and that’s going to keep rain chances away,” said Vivek Shenoy, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service office in Midland.
Earlier this week, a storm system over Central Texas brought scattered rain to parts of West Texas, especially in Reagan County. Shenoy noted that some storms were intense because upper-level winds were weak, causing the storms to stall and dump large amounts of rain in localized areas.
“When that happens, storms don’t move a lot, and these tended to regenerate and drop a lot of rain,” he said.
Another unusual feature of the recent weather has been the high amount of lightning.
“The lightning in the repeated storms was unusual because we don’t typically see so much of it,” Shenoy said.
If any rain does fall in the Permian Basin this weekend, it will likely be limited to higher elevations such as the Davis Mountains, which is typical for this time of year.
Day-by-Day Forecast for Midland-Odessa
- Thursday: Sunny skies with a high of 99°F. Mostly clear overnight with a low around 75°F.
- Friday: Hottest day of the week with highs reaching 100°F. Overnight low near 74°F.
- Saturday: Temperatures cool slightly with a high of 97°F.
- Sunday: Highs dip further to about 93°F, continuing the dry and sunny trend.
Travel Outlook Across Texas
If you’re traveling across Texas this weekend, most areas will see hot and mostly dry conditions, with a few exceptions.
- El Paso: Sunny during the day, partly to mostly cloudy at night. Highs in the 90s, lows in the 70s.
- Lubbock: A 20% chance of rain on Thursday, otherwise hot and dry. Highs in the upper 90s Friday and Saturday, cooling to low 90s on Sunday.
- Amarillo: Highs this weekend will range from the low to mid-90s.
- San Angelo & Dallas: Forecasts similar to Midland-Odessa — hot and mostly sunny.
- Austin: A 40% chance of storms both Saturday and Sunday afternoons.
- San Antonio: Rain possible Saturday with warm, humid conditions continuing.
Whether staying local or heading out, sunscreen and hydration will be key this weekend across much of Texas.
