CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — High pressure, light wind, low humidity and clear skies will bring a cold night tonight but return flow Sunday ushers warmer air ahead of a New Year's morning cold front. Expect scattered showers Wednesday to be followed by heavy rain next Friday. A generally quiet pattern quickly becomes very active early next week, as a series of potent upper-air disturbances migrate from the West Coast through the Southern Plains. Sufficient Gulf moisture will be available Tuesday to allow scattered showers with up to a half inch of rain possible, especially along the coast. A powerful upper low moves directly over South Texas Thursday night and Friday and may result in thunderstorms bringing between 1 and 2 inches of rain.
Temperatures will warm to well above normal on Sunday, with the mercury surging into the upper 70s. A cold front New Year's Day morning will chill the Coastal Bend, with expected highs in the 60s through the ensuing week and overnights in the 40s to lower 50s. A southeasterly wind on Sunday will gust to nearly 25 miles an hour, then shift to the north at the same force for your Monday. No watches, warnings, or advisories are in effect, but inland temperatures early Saturday morning may briefly drop to near freezing.