Is Texas about to skip spring? 90-degree temps expected next week

There’s still a few more days of February, which is a month that often brings bitterly cold temperatures across Texas. After that, there’s still a few months before the summer heat takes hold, right?

Not quite. Texas may have some other ideas. The Lone Star State is about to skip spring entirely and bring summerlike heat across much of the state on Monday. Several Texas cities will have near-record temperatures that reach the low 90s. That is more typical of late May than late February, meaning this heat is about three months ahead of schedule.

Sunday’s forecast

Before summer arrives, head outside and enjoy one more springlike day across the state. Here in San Antonio, morning low temperatures will drop into the low 50s by 6 to 7 a.m. Temperatures will rise fast though, reaching 70 degrees by 11 a.m., on its way to the low 80s by late afternoon.

High temperatures near 82 degrees will be 13 degrees above average for late February. However, with mostly sunny skies and light winds at 10 to 15 mph, it will be a relatively nice day to spend outdoors.

Similar conditions are expected across the state. High temps in the 80s are expected in the Rio Grande Valley, West Texas and extending into much of North Texas as well.

Where will the 90-degree heat be?

On Monday, temperatures will soar, especially in West-Central Texas. Highs are expected to reach the low 90s in cities like Abilene, San Angelo, Childress, Burnet and Stephenville. Even the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex will have an outside chance of reaching 90 degrees. If it does, it would tie their record high of 90 degrees set back in 1917.

One spot in Texas will even have a chance of reaching triple digits. Rio Grande Village, which is a small community on the Texas-Mexico border in Big Bend National Park, is often regarded as the hottest place in Texas. Its predicted high Monday is 100 degrees.

Many areas in Texas will not reach 90 degrees. This includes San Antonio, Austin, Houston and much of East Texas. Why? These areas are much closer to the Gulf of Mexico and light southerly winds from the gulf will raise moisture levels much higher than in the rest of the state.

As moisture levels increase, morning fog and afternoon clouds will keep San Antonio’s high temps in the mid-80s. Over in Houston, it will be even cooler, topping out in the upper 70s and

low 80s on Monday.

The next cold front

After another warm day in the 80s on Tuesday, a significant cold front is expected to race through Texas on Wednesday. In San Antonio, high temperatures may still rise into the 70s early on, but they’ll fall into the 50s and 60s by the afternoon after the cold front moves through.

Thursday’s temperatures will be on the cool side in the Alamo City. Morning lows will fall into the 40s, and afternoon high temps will rise only to the upper 50s to 60s. There is a chance of a few showers and thunderstorms, too; but rainfall totals, if any, are expected to remain low.