Shel Winkley
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Shel Winkley
@shelwinkleywx.bsky.social
@climatecentral.org | Former KBTX Chief Meteorologist | AMS CBM #780 | TAMU Class of 2007 | 🔴 🌎 Climate Change is Real.
November 2025 was #bcstx's THIRD hottest in 140+ years of record keeping. All said & done, the month ended 6°F WARMER than average.

#1 on that list: 1927. #2: 2024.

Climate change had a fingerprint on this warmth locally & for many others across the U.S.

Details in the quote post 👇
December 9, 2025 at 3:39 AM
Yes, Virginia. There is a Santa Claus!

Has snow fallen in the Brazos Valley BEFORE our weather records began?

Knowing what we know, there's a decent likelihood that Christmas 1876 (1st TAMU holiday season) greeted folks with a Winter Wonderland.

My 2016 reporting 👉 www.kbtx.com/content/news...
December 7, 2025 at 4:03 PM
That said, let's remember that the reality of a White Christmas is not a luxury we have here in the Brazos Valley.

In all 141 years of our written records, #bcstx has not recorded observed snow on December 25th.

☃️Odds of at least 1" of snow on Christmas Day: 0%
(gpx: @climatecentral.org)
December 7, 2025 at 4:03 PM
Quick check of the long-range ensembles, Brazos Valley.

❄️Christmas Day snow prospects are looking...not so holly jolly.

(Prove me wrong, bluesky. Let this post age poorly 🤞...)
December 7, 2025 at 4:03 PM
Temperature 📉 coming to the Brazos Valley tonight.

Afternoon rain/storms chance ends 10-11pm as a cold front passes.

Temperatures crash to upper 30s/low 40s by sunrise. Wind chill (feels like) ~32° @ sunrise Sunday.

Sunday: 50s, chills in the 40s #bcstx
November 29, 2025 at 5:04 PM
Hello, winter!

Good to see you coming to hang out this week!
(enjoy it, Brazos Valley...long-range supports low/mid 80s back by mid-December)

#bcstx
November 27, 2025 at 3:29 PM
Here's where November 2025 ranks as the WARMEST of record for Texas cities:

- Bryan/College Station: #2
- Houston: #4
- Austin: #2
- DFW: WARMEST OF RECORD

On average, across these cities, November has warmed 3.5° - 4° compared to just 50-55 years ago
November 26, 2025 at 6:37 PM
New data from @berkeleyearth.org:

🎃 3rd. That is the ranking October 2025 now sits for the WARMEST October of record GLOBALLY, behind 2023 and 2024.
🌍 4% of Earth saw a record-hot October average.
🌡️94%. That's the current odds that 2025 will go down as the THIRD warmest year on record GLOBALLY
November 25, 2025 at 3:10 PM
SPC has also noted a 60% chance a WATCH will be needed for parts or all of the Brazos Valley as the severe weather potential fluctuates through the rest of the day.

Regardless, should a storm briefly become severe, main concerns:
- Main: large hail, damaging wind
- Possible: isolated tornado
November 24, 2025 at 5:35 PM
Brazos Valley has been overlapped in 2 different discussions for potential flooding due to heavy rain now ➡️ evening.

Training rounds of storms may produce pockets of 2" to 4". Per WPC: "At least isolated instances of flash flooding are
possible"

Links to full discussion in next post 👇
November 24, 2025 at 5:31 PM
Perspective:

🗣️@katharinehayhoe.com

"If our body temperature spiked by 2°F in a very short period of time, which is exactly what the Earth's temperature has done, then we'd be feeling really achy...Imagine if your body is running a 5, 6, 7-degree fever, That is life-threatening."
November 19, 2025 at 2:36 PM
...And when the band had finished,St. Peter wiped his eyes
And said, "It's not so hard to see
They're meant for Paradise."

And the colonel of the Cadet Corps said
As he stiffly took his stand,"
It's just another Corps Trip, boys,
We'll march in behind the band."

11.18.99 2:42am
November 18, 2025 at 1:24 PM
Next cold front on deck to swipe across Texas Thursday → Friday.

Rain & storms (from the viewpoint of Monday) look like a decent bet. As they clash w/ unusually warm & humid air, a few severe storms not ruled out.

Analogs show odds for at least 1 severe report ⤵️
November 17, 2025 at 3:52 PM
This fits into the larger trend we've experienced with Brazos Valley autumn

The season has warmed, on average, by 4.3° since just 1970

While expected at times in this transition season, ABOVE average days now consume ~64% of our September - November in #bcstx

This is not our grandparents' fall
November 17, 2025 at 1:36 AM
#bcstx hit 83°F Sunday: 13° above avg for Nov. 16. More like early October than mid-November.

Warmth sticks around Mon-Wed. Highs forecast to tie/break daily records.

@climatecentral.org’s Climate Shift Index shows this kind of fall warmth is now at least 2x more likely because of climate change.
November 17, 2025 at 1:36 AM
Early and very preliminary look at next week’s 11am kick at Kyle Field:

• Temps: Mid-60s to ~70° — easily the coolest game so far
• Rain: Low chance, but not zero.
 – One model pushes the front through Thu→Fri
 – Another brings rain Saturday

Details to work out over the coming days
November 16, 2025 at 1:15 AM
👀Eyes on the gameday forecast here in #Aggieland

Cold front punching in dry, mild air will also bring a chance for line of scattered rain/storm/lightning potential.

A lot to work out between now & Saturday's 11am kick.
Something to monitor for now...

#txwx
November 10, 2025 at 3:15 AM
Friday (11/7) #bcstx topped off at 87° -- the THIRD WARMEST in 143 years of record keeping.

🔴 Unusual, near-record warmth made at least TWICE as likely due to human-caused climate change.

This trend? Already playing out in real-time
• 2023 & 2024 — tied #1
• 2022, 2018 — tied #3
November 8, 2025 at 3:45 PM
Seen some images or claims over the past week about #Melissa that seem...just...off?

Check out @fullfact.org for fact checks & de-bunks of the misinformation swirling social media

fullfact.org/environment/
November 4, 2025 at 2:52 PM
While the prospect of another 0.5" to 2" of rain is welcome, it could come at the cost of a few stronger, even severe, storms.

SPC has the area under a 2/5 risk for severe weather.
⚠️Main Concerns:
- Hail (quarter size+)
- Wind gusts (40mph+)
October 25, 2025 at 3:03 PM
Round #1 of storms was overnight.
Round #2 is expected to come together by mid-late afternoon & rattle through most of the evening.

Early morning version for what the radar could look like as we await this second batch of active weather across the Brazos Valley
October 25, 2025 at 3:03 PM
Forecast radar for rounds of rain & storms (perhaps a few severe w/ strong wind gusts as the main concern overnight)

Line of storm timing✅
Expect sunrise rain with a morning lull.
Personally, think the 2nd round timing is too slow. Suspect afternoon rain could be possible
#bcsx #txwx
October 25, 2025 at 2:41 AM
So far this month, #bcstx has only managed to scrape in 0.04" of rain.

October is typically our WETTEST month w/ an average of 4.93" expected.

Tonight's/Saturday's expected rain could try to make up at least half of that

RAINFALL FORECASTS🔽
◀️HRRR
▶️ @nws.noaa.gov's WPC
October 24, 2025 at 2:31 PM
Let's. Go.
🌧️🌧️🌧️

Weekend (much, much needed) rain loading...
October 23, 2025 at 3:24 PM
#Melissa is stewing over Caribbean waters 2°F+ above average — made 600x more likely by oceans storing ~90% of the extra heat from *our* carbon pollution.

Thread below on why that matters for this late-season storm👇
October 22, 2025 at 2:58 PM