Here’s an update on this weekend’s weather and an outlook for the next week.
Weather Highlights Over the Next Week
- Dry weather is forecast over the weekend, continuing through late next week
- A hard freeze is forecast across the Hill Country and much of Central Texas Friday night
- Temperatures will remain cool through the first half of next week. Milder readings will develop for the second half of next week
Discussion
The storm system which brought widespread rain to the region Thursday has exited to the northeast. Fortunately, temperatures were just warm enough at the surface and in the lower atmosphere to keep most of the precipitation liquid. The National Weather Service did receive scattered reports of light glazing of ice on elevated surfaces, such as trees, fences, and metal signs across Edwards, Kerr, Gillespie, and northern Kendall Counties. However, there no reports of icing on roadways from across the area.
Thursday’s storm system did bring the first widespread, soaking rain to the area in quite some time. According to LCRA’s Hydromet, Thursday’s totals averaged around a half inch across the western half of the Hill Country, and between 1 and 1.25 inches over the eastern half. Across Central Texas, most totals were in the range of 1-1.5 inches. South of Interstate 10, totals were generally between 2 and 3 inches. LCRA’s highest gauged total was 3.23 inches near Sargent, along the coast in southeastern Matagorda County.
Breezy, dry, and chilly weather conditions are in place in the wake of the departing low pressure system. A strong pressure gradient on the back side of the low will cause strong northwesterly winds with speeds of 10-20 mph and gusts to 30 mph through Friday evening. Wind speeds are forecast to decrease to around 5-10 mph by midnight Friday night. An area of moisture wrapping around the exiting low pressure system will likely keep Friday’s sky mostly cloudy. The sky is predicted to clear from west to east Friday evening.
Some of the coldest temperatures we’ve seen all week are expected to develop Friday night as the sky clears and the wind decreases. Much of the Hill Country and parts of Central Texas could see a hard freeze.
- High temperatures Friday will range from around 40 degrees across the Hill Country, to the mid-40s across the coastal plains
- Low temperatures Saturday morning will include the low 20s across the Hill Country, the mid-20s across Central Texas, and the upper 20s to 30 degrees towards the coast
Sunny, dry, and slightly warmer weather is forecast this weekend as our region comes under the influence of a dry and stable wind flow in the middle and upper atmosphere. Forecasts do call for a cold front to push south across the area Sunday, bringing a reinforcing shot of chilly air. The atmosphere looks to be too dry for any precipitation to develop along the cold front.
- High temperatures Saturday are forecast to be in the low and mid-50s
- Lows Sunday morning are predicted to generally be in the low 30s, with mid-30s for the coastal area
- High temperatures Sunday are forecast to be in the mid and upper 50s
- Lows Monday morning will include the mid and upper 20s across the Hill Country, the low 30s across Central Texas, and the mid-30s across the coastal plains
Next week’s weather is expected to be most sunny and dry as a weak ridge of high pressure spreads over Texas out of the southwestern U.S. Sunday’s cold front is expected to bring in cooler air for Monday and Tuesday. Light freezes are forecast across the Hill Country and Central Texas regions Monday and Tuesday mornings. Milder temperatures look to develop the second half of the week, continuing into next weekend.
- High temperatures Monday and Tuesday are forecast to be in the mid-50s
- Highs Wednesday through Friday are forecast to be in the upper 50s
- High temperatures next Saturday are forecast to reach close to 70 degrees
- Lows Tuesday and Wednesday mornings are predicted to be in the mid and upper 30s
- Lows Thursday through Saturday are predicted to be in the low and mid-40s
Looking out a little further, forecasts are calling for another surge of cold air to push south across Texas sometime around January 20th, that will bring colder temperatures. Some of the solutions show the cold air being similar in magnitude to what we saw this week, with others call for colder temperatures. Stay tuned for further updates.
Four Planets Visible Now in the Evening Sky
- Venus shines very high and bright as the “Evening Star” in the southwest during twilight and lower in the west-southwest as evening grows late. It doesn’t set until about 2½ hours after dark
- As darkness deepens you can spot Saturn, much fainter, upper left or left of Venus and closing in on it day by day
- Mars is at opposition this week, glaring at bright magnitude –1.4 It comes into view as a steady orange spark low in the east-northeast sky during twilight
- Jupiter, more than a month past its own opposition, shines at a very bright magnitude –2.7. It dominates the high east to southern sky during evening, with fainter Aldebaran (orangeand the Pleiades nearby. Jupiter is still a good 45 arcseconds wide
Have a great weekend!
Bob
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