Weather Highlights
- The arctic front will push south across the region Tuesday afternoon into Tuesday evening, bringing windy and much colder weather
- An area of showers will accompany the front, but the precipitation should end before temperatures fall below freezing
- Very cold temperatures will be in the place Wednesday through Thursday night
- Forecasts still show a slight chance for some light freezing rain across the Hill Country and the Austin/Interstate 35 corridor Friday night into Saturday morning. Should the freezing rain develop, only light ice accumulations are expected and this will primarily be on bridges and overpasses.
- Dry and milder weather will develop on Sunday
Discussion
The arctic front spread into Texas Monday night and is moving a bit faster than was originally forecast. As of 1 pm, the front stretched from the Dallas/Fort Worth area, to near Brady, to near Wink. Temperatures immediately behind the front were in the 30s and 40s. Up to our northwest, Amarillo is reporting a temperature of 8 degrees. The front is predicted to push to the south-southeast across the Hill Country this afternoon, reaching the Austin/I-35 corridor in the late afternoon. The front will continue pushing southeast and should push off the middle Texas coast before midnight.
Light rain showers have developed across much of Central Texas out ahead of the cold front, and these light showers are forecast to continue through the afternoon. Showers and a few isolated thunderstorms are forecast to develop along the front when it moves through Central Texas and the middle Texas coast, but the precipitation is expected to end before the temperature falls below freezing. As a result, no wintery precipitation is expected in the wake of the arctic front Tuesday night into Wednesday morning.
Tuesday’s forecast data is not showing any appreciable changes in the cold weather event from what was forecast on Monday. Windy and much colder weather will develop Tuesday night as the arctic air surges south. The very cold air will continue Wednesday through Thursday. Forecasts call for northerly winds to increase to a range of 10-20 mph, with gusts to 40 mph Tuesday night. Similar winds with gusts to 30 mph are forecast are forecast Wednesday and Wednesday night. Northeast winds at 10-15 mph are predicted for Thursday.
The combination of the strong winds and the very cold temperatures will cause very chilly wind chill readings into Thursday. Wind chill readings are forecast to reach the low and middle teens across the Hill Country and Central Texas regions Tuesday night into Wednesday morning and again Wednesday night into Thursday morning. The National Weather Service has posted a Cold Weather Advisory for the entire region midnight Tuesday night through Noon on Wednesday. An Extreme Cold Weather Watch has been posted for the entire region from Wednesday night through Thursday morning.
There has been little change in the temperature forecast for the next few days:
- Low temperatures Wednesday morning are predicted to be in the mid and upper teens across the Hill Country, in the mid and upper 20s across Central Texas, and in the mid-30s across the coastal plains
- High temperatures Wednesday will range from the mid 30s across the Hill Country, to the low and mid 40s across the coastal plains
- Low temperatures Thursday morning are forecast to be between 10 and 15 degrees across the northern Hill Country, between 15 and 20 degrees across the central and southern Hill Country, between 20 and 22 degrees across Central Texas, and in the mid upper 20s coastal region
- High temperatures Thursday will range from the upper 30s Hill Country, to the mid-40s near the coast
- Low temperatures Friday morning are forecast to be in the low and mid-20s Hill Country, the mid and upper 20s Central Texas, and the low 30s coastal region
- High temperatures Friday will be in the upper 30s to low 40s
- Lows Saturday morning will range from around 28-30 degrees across the Hill Country, to the low 30s across the Austin/I-35 corridor, to the mid-30s across Central Texas, to the upper 30s across the coastal plains
- High temperatures Saturday are forecast to be in the mid-40s to the low 50s.
Tuesday’s forecast continues to call for occasional light precipitation to develop across the eastern Hill Country, Central Texas, and coastal regions Friday evening and Friday night, with the precipitation continuing into Saturday afternoon. With the temperature expected to fall below freezing across the eastern Hill Country and the Austin/Interstate 35 corridor Friday night into Saturday morning, some freezing rain still appears possible across these two area late Friday night into Saturday morning. The probability for precipitation will be near 30 percent. As of now, only light ice accumulations are expected—mainly on bridges and overpasses. For areas from Bastrop and La Grange, southeast to the coast, the temperature is forecast to remain above freezing Friday night, keeping all of the precipitation liquid.
The chance for rain should diminish from west to east Saturday afternoon. Dry and milder weather will develop Sunday and continue through all of next week. High temperatures Saturday are forecast to be in the 50s, warming to around 68-70 degrees on Sunday. High temperatures next Monday through Wednesday are forecast to be in the upper 70s to low 80s. Lows will generally be in the 50s.
Bob
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