Austin to get sweltering heat before weekend cold front
Austin temperatures are set to skyrocket into the high 80s this week, with heat indexes reaching the mid-90s, before storms roll into the area Saturday, dropping temperatures into the 60s and 70s this weekend.
“Some models show it's definitely going to be a wet weekend, especially Saturday night. But the amount is still up in the air,” said Orlando Bermudez, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in New Braunfels.
He said the weekend storms will be caused by a combination of an upperlevel disturbance and a polar front. Current predictions cannot pinpoint the location or timing of the storms, but 1 to 2 inches of rain are expected to fall over the course of six to 10 hours Saturday.
“Everything should be done by early Sunday, with a 20-30% chance of rain Sunday,” Bermudez said.
The U.S. is set for a transition out of an El Niño weather pattern, characterized by wet weather in Southern states. It could take another two to three weeks to move into neutral weather, which will stay in place until August, when it will shift back into La Niña, distinguished by hot, dry weather in Texas.
Austin’s forecast this week
Wednesday
• High: 89
• Low: 70
• Mostly cloudy skies and high levels of humidity will lead to a heat index reaching into the mid-90s in the afternoon.
Thursday
• High: 89
• Low: 70
• Another cloudy day, with the heat index reaching into the mid-90s. Slight chances of an afternoon thunderstorm.
Friday
• High: 88
• Low: 68
• Partly cloudy skies and wavering humidity levels. Slight chance of overnight storms, beginning at 7 p.m.
Saturday
• High: 83
• Low: 68
• Rain chances will be at their highest all week, ranging from 30% to 60%, probaly all day Saturday into Sunday.
Sunday
• High: 72
• Low: 61
• Rain chances range from 20% to 30% all day, with some wind gusts up to 25 mph.