An area of light rain showers spread across parts of the Hill Country and Central Texas Friday morning as moisture increased ahead of a trough of low pressure moving out of northeastern Mexico. With limited moisture and atmospheric lift in place, totals through early Friday afternoon have all been less than a tenth of an inch. The chance for rain should diminish from west to east across the Hill Country and Central Texas regions mid to late afternoon as the moisture and atmospheric lift exit to the east. Additional rain amounts are predicted to stay under a tenth of an inch. Across the middle Texas coast and the eastern counties of Central Texas, rain showers and a few isolated thunderstorms are forecast to increase in coverage this afternoon in advance of the upper trough. Totals here are expected to be a little heavier, generally around a quarter inch. Today’s temperature will be mild, with highs in the low and mid-70s.
A Canadian cold front was located across Northwest Texas late Friday morning. The front is forecast to push into the northern Hill Country by late afternoon, sinking south across the rest of the region Friday evening and Friday night. The front will cause the sky to clear and the temperature to trend noticeably cooler overnight. Lows Saturday morning will include the upper 30s across the Hill Country, the low and mid-40s across Central Texas and the lower 50s towards the coast.
Saturday’s weather will be sunny and cool with high temperatures in the low and mid-60s. Expect a northeasterly wind at 5-10 mph. Lows Sunday morning will generally be in the low 40s, with low to mid-50s expected towards the coast.
A slight chance to a chance for rain showers is forecast across the region on Sunday. Forecasts call for a vigorous trough of low pressure to push east out of Colorado, helping to push a strong cold front across Texas Sunday afternoon. Friday night’s cold front is predicted to lift back to the north as a warm front Sunday morning, allowing moisture and milder air to spread north. A cloudy sky and scattered light rain showers are expected to develop across the region Sunday morning into Sunday afternoon. Rain amounts Sunday are forecast to generally less than a quarter inch, with some slightly higher totals expected towards the coast. High temperatures Sunday will be in the mid and upper 60s.
The strong cold front is forecast to sweep south across the Hill Country and Central Texas regions Sunday afternoon, pushing off the middle Texas coast by early evening. Northwesterly winds are forecast to increase to 10-20 mph with gusts to 35 mph Sunday afternoon and will continue strong Sunday night. The temperature will trend colder Sunday afternoon and Sunday night. In fact, a freeze is forecast across the Hill Country and parts of Central Texas Monday morning.
- Lows Monday morning will include the mid and upper 20s across the Hill Country, the lower 30s across Central Texas and the upper 30s to low 40s across the coastal plains region.
Sunny, dry and cool weather is forecast all of next week as a stable atmosphere remains in place. A reinforcing cold front is predicted for early Wednesday, followed by a second cold front late Thursday. High temperatures Monday will be in the low and mid-50s, rising to the low 60s Tuesday and down to around 60 Wednesday. High temperatures Thursday and Friday will be in the low and mid-60s. Low temperatures Tuesday through Thursday mornings will be in the upper 20s to low 30s across the Hill Country, the low and mid-30s across Central Texas and the upper 30s to low 40s across the coastal plains. Readings will be slightly warmer Friday and Saturday mornings.
Sunny and mild weather is forecast next weekend. High temperatures look to be near 70 degrees while low temperatures will be in the 40s.
Looking out to the week of December 21st, long-range forecasts call for sunny and mild weather for the first half of the week with high temperatures near 70 degrees and low temperatures around 50 degrees. The long-range forecasts call for a chance for rain developing Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. (Confidence in this solution verifying is quite low). High temperatures on Christmas Day are forecast to be 60s. No arctic air is showing up in the outlook going through the end of the month.
The Geminid Meteor Shower this Weekend and Monday
Earth is entering a stream of debris this weekend from rock comet 3200 Phaethon, the source of the annual Geminid meteor shower. The Geminids are often considered the richest meteor shower of the year, with “Gems” intensity up to 120 meteors visible per hour under very dark skies. Most of us have to put up with varying amounts of light pollution, so a more realistic number may be about 50–60 per hour.
If you like, you can start watching as early as 7 or 8 p.m., facing northeast to watch for earthgrazers, meteoroids that gracefully skim across the upper atmosphere on long shallow trajectories like stones skipping across a pond. Geminid meteor numbers tend to intensify as evening deepens into late night, with the greatest number of Geminids likely falling an hour or two after midnight, when the meteor shower’s radiant point appears highest in the sky. The best night to watch will be Sunday night, December 13–14, when the meteor shower will reach its peak.
Have a good weekend.
Bob
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