Storms, chilly sweater weather coming to Austin with Friday cold front

Roberto Villalpando, Austin American-Statesman
·4 min read

Sweater weather is coming to Austin, folks! Thanks to another fierce cold front arriving Friday, we're about to experience some of the chilliest days so far this season, with a decent dose of rain to boot.

The National Weather Service forecast calls for strong to severe storms between 7 a.m. and 2 p.m., when "large hail and damaging winds will be the primary hazards," the weather service said.

"Gusty northerly winds will usher in much cooler air Friday afternoon and moving into the weekend, expect temperatures to struggle to get out of the 50s for highs both days," according to weather service meteorologists Mack Morris and Orlando Bermudez. "Additionally, our first freeze is possible Saturday morning for portions of the western and northern Hill Country, then a more widespread freeze looks likely Sunday morning for the western and northern Hill Country west of the I-35 corridor."

Forecasters said in a bulletin Thursday that "isolated pockets of 1 to 2 inches of rainfall are possible across the I-35 corridor, Hill Country and Edwards Plateau," adding that "the rest of the area could get between one-tenth to one quarter-inch with several locations getting nothing."

What will Veterans Day weather be like?

Facing a 90% chance of rain, Austin is all but certain to see showers and possibly severe thunderstorms mainly after 9 a.m., forecasters said. Up to a half-inch of rain is possible. Some storms also could produce large hail and damaging winds.

Daytime temperatures on Friday could rise to as high as 69 degrees by 9 a.m. before the cold front causes temperatures to fall to around 56 for the rest of the day. Winds will kick up in the morning from the north, blowing at 10 to 15 mph with gusts as strong as 25 mph.

Rain chances will persist Friday night but diminish to 20% before midnight, forecasters said. As the cloudy evening skies clear, overnight temperatures could sink to as low as 40 degrees. Adding bite to the bluster will be north winds of 10 to 15 mph with gusts as strong as 30 mph.

How bad is the drought in Texas?

Drought data released Thursday from the U.S. Drought Monitor, a joint effort of the National Drought Mitigation Center, the U.S. Agriculture Department and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, indicate that drought conditions are holding steadfast across Texas. Data show 90.2% of the state is experiencing drought. That's only 1.7 percentage points lower than last week.

Drought actually worsened a bit in Central Texas, particularly in Hays County:

  • About 85.4% of Hays County, except for its northern and eastern corners, is now in exceptional drought, which is the worst level of drought and typified by widespread crop loss and sensitivity to fire danger.

  • The western half of Travis County, or about 46.3%, remained in extreme drought, the second-worst level, which includes cracked soil, decreased crop yields and the need for supplemental feed for livestock. About 2.7% of the county, along its southern border with Hays County, is now in exceptional drought.

  • About 53.7% of Caldwell County, save for a swath in the northeast, remained in extreme drought.

  • About 90.4% of Williamson County remained in severe drought, which is typified by poor pasture conditions, hard soils and low crop yields.

  • About 75.7% of Bastrop County remained in severe drought, with an area along its northern border in moderate drought, which can mean stunted crops, early cattle sales and increasing frequency of wildfires.

Drought Monitor data indicate that about 12.2 million of the state's 29 million residents live in drought-stricken areas. Also, 2022 to date is now the state's ninth-driest year in the past 128 years.

What's the weather going to be like this weekend?

Although Austin might start Saturday in the 40s, the weather service said, "Saturday night into Sunday morning will bring the coldest air of the season."

Austin's forecast for Saturday calls for sunny skies but also for temperatures to climb no higher than 59 degrees. The cold will be made more intense by north winds of 5 to 10 mph with gusts as strong as 25 mph. In the evening, overnight temperatures could dip into the upper 30s, the weather service said.

"With lighter winds and the potential for partly to mostly clear skies, (we) still think Sunday morning will provide a slightly better potential for temperatures to reach 32 or below in the valleys of the Hill Country," forecasters said in their bulletin.

Austin on Sunday and Monday could see maximum temperatures rebound to above 60 degrees under mostly sunny skies. Monday does have a small chance of morning shower, but the main concern will be another cold front arriving Tuesday.

"Beyond Monday, unseasonably cool temperatures are expected with highs some 10 to 20 degrees below normal, and morning lows some 10 to 15 degrees below normal for mid-November," the weather service said. "If you like cooler weather, your time to shine is now, as we aren't expecting much of a change in the temperature department over the next three to 10 days."

This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Bundle up: Austin weather to get cooler as cold front moves in Friday