It seemed like spring was beginning to take hold last week, with widespread temperatures in the 70s and 80s. But Mother Nature seems to have other ideas this week. A strong cold front pushed through the area Sunday night, bringing a return of winter-like chill along with some very low totals of rain. Monday’s temperature is in the 40s and 50s—a drop of more than 30 degrees from Sunday. According to LCRA’s Hydromet, for areas that did happen to see rain, most totals were under a tenth of an inch. This week’s weather is going to feature more strong ups and downs in the temperature.
Early afternoon satellite images showed a widespread area of clouds covering the eastern half of the state. The clouds are predicted to decrease across the Hill Country and the Interstate 35 corridor this afternoon, leaving a partly cloudy sky. For areas east of I-35, the widespread clouds look to hold in place this afternoon and tonight. Afternoon temperatures are forecast to warm only to around 50-52 degrees. Expect a strong northeasterly wind at 10-20 mph, with occasional gusts to 30 mph.
The clouds are forecast to spread back northwest across the I-35 corridor and the Hill Country late this evening and overnight. Some light rain showers and even a couple of isolated thunderstorms will be possible across the coastal plains region beginning after midnight Monday night.
- Lows Tuesday morning will include the low and mid-30s across the Hill Country, the upper 30s across Central Texas and the mid to upper 40s across the coastal plains.
Widespread light rain showers are forecast to develop across the region Tuesday morning as a trough of low pressure tracks east out of the southern Rockies, creating an overrunning pattern. The light rains are expected to persist Tuesday afternoon into Tuesday evening. The rains should then taper off late Tuesday evening as the upper trough exits to the northeast. The most favorable area for rain is expected to occur over areas generally along and east of Interstate 35. Here, totals through Tuesday evening are forecast to average around a quarter inch. For the Hill Country region, totals are forecast to average only around a tenth of an inch.
- Tuesday will be a cold day, with high temperatures of only 48-50 degrees.
- Low temperatures Wednesday morning will include the low and mid-30s across the Hill Country, the mid and upper 30s across Central Texas, and the low and mid-40s across the coastal area.
Wednesday and Thursday’s weather will include a sunny to mostly sunny sky and warmer temperatures as a weak ridge of high pressure temporarily spreads over the state.
- High temperatures Wednesday will generally be in the mid-60s, warming into the mid-70s on Thursday.
- Low temperatures Thursday will range from the upper 30s across the Hill Country, to the mid-40s across the coastal plains.
Forecasts call for a large trough of low pressure to develop south out of western Canada into the Western U.S. mid to late week. This trough will allow an arctic cold front with much colder air to sink south across the western U.S. and into Texas late Thursday. The front is predicted to reach the northern Hill Country late Thursday evening, the Austin area before midnight, and the coastal region before daybreak Friday. Forecasts indicate there will be a window for the development of some light precipitation along and just behind the cold front from about midnight Thursday night, to around noon on Friday. As of now, the majority of the precipitation is forecast to be light rain. But there is a small, outside chance some of the precipitation across the northern and central Hill Country could be a mixture of light rain, sleet and even a few snow flurries. Rain amounts overall are expected to remain under a tenth of an inch. Mostly clear, breezy and much cooler weather will follow the cold front Friday afternoon into Friday night. As the arctic air spreads into our region, a widespread freeze is expected across the region Friday night and again Saturday night. A hard freeze is forecast for the Hill Country and the I-35 corridor, while a light freeze is expected elsewhere. Protection will be needed for tender vegetation.
- High temperatures Friday will generally be in the upper 40s to mid-50s.
- Lows Saturday morning are forecast to be in the low and mid-20s across the Hill Country, in the mid and upper 20s across Central Texas and in the low 30s across the coastal plains.
- High temperatures Saturday are forecast to be near 58-60 degrees.
- Low temperatures Sunday morning are predicted to be around 30 degrees across the Hill Country, be in the low 30s across Central Texas and in the low to mid-30s across the coastal plains.
- High temperatures Sunday are predicted to be in the mid and upper 60s.
Sunny and dry weather is forecast this weekend
Looking ahead to next week, forecasts call for a mostly sunny, dry and mild weather pattern throughout the week. High temperatures are forecast to be in the 70s, with low temperatures mostly in the 50s.
Time Change this Weekend
Daylight Saving Time will begin this coming Sunday morning, March 13th at 2:00 am. At that time, we will “spring forward”, setting our clocks ahead one hour. This will add more daylight to the evenings, while mornings will be darker for a few weeks’ time.
Bob
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