Quiet, fall-like weather conditions are in place across the region as we close out the work week. Thursday morning’s cold front ushered in cooler and drier air that will set the stage for a beautiful weekend of weather. Friday morning did start off rather chilly across the Hill Country and parts of Central Texas, where minimum temperatures generally ranged from the mid-30s to the mid-40s. According to LCRA’s Hydromet, a couple of locations located west of Junction and Brownwood reached 33 degrees. In Austin, Camp Mabry recorded a low temperature of 45 degrees while Austin-Bergstrom Airport recorded a low of 41 degrees.
Sunny and mild weather will be in place this afternoon. Southwesterly breezes at 5-10 mph will allow the temperature to warm into the low and mid-70s. Up to our north, another cold front is pushing south out of Northwest Texas. The front is forecast to move across the northern Hill Country early this afternoon, reaching the Austin area mid-afternoon and the coastal region about sunset. With a very dry and stable atmosphere in place, no clouds or rain are forecast with the cold front. However, slightly cooler air will spread into the area Friday night through Saturday. The combination of a clear sky and light winds Friday night will prompt very efficient cooling, leading to some of the coolest readings so far this autumn.
- Lows Saturday morning will include the mid and upper 30s across the Hill Country, the upper 30s to low 40s across Central Texas, and the low and mid-40s across the coastal plains. Do note the temperature will likely fall below freezing at many low-lying and valley areas of the Hill Country.
Sunny and pleasant weather will be in place over the weekend as our region remains under a dry and stable weather pattern.
- High temperatures will be in the upper 60s Saturday, warming to the mid-70s on Sunday.
- Lows Sunday morning will generally be in the mid-40s.
- Lows Monday morning will range from the upper 40s across the Hill Country to the low 50s near the coast.
Sunny and warmer weather is expected for the first half of next week as a ridge of high pressure over northern Mexico and the Desert Southwest expands across Texas. Expect a high temperature in in the upper 70s Monday, near 80 degrees Tuesday and in the lower 80s on Wednesday. Low temperatures will be in the 50s. Breezy south winds of 10-20 mph are forecast Tuesday and Wednesday as the pressure gradient strengthens across Texas.
A trough of low pressure pushing east across the Plains states will help push a cold front south across Texas next Wednesday night into Thursday morning. No rain is forecast with the cold front when it moves across the Hill Country or the Interstate 35 corridor. However, there may be just enough moisture in place for a few showers and isolated thunderstorms for locations located east of Interstate 35. Rain amounts, if any, appear to be quite low.
Sunny and cooler weather will follow the cold front Thursday afternoon, continuing into next weekend. Look for high temperatures in the upper 60s to low 70s, with low temperatures in the 40s to low 50s.
The outlook for the week of November 22nd (Thanksgiving week) calls for the weather pattern to trend more unsettled across much of Texas as a series of low pressure troughs move across Texas out of the southern Rockies and the Desert Southwest. While the timing of these systems is still uncertain, they do look to being periods of rain to our area beginning early in the week, continuing through late week. Temperatures throughout the week will be cool, with highs in the 60s and lows around 50 degrees. More specifics about the holiday week weather should become clearer over the next week.
Tropical Weather Outlook
Weather conditions are quiet across the tropical Atlantic, the Caribbean Sea and the Gulf of Mexico. There are no systems around which pose a threat for tropical storm development for at least the next 5 days.
The Moon, Jupiter and Saturn Friday Night
The Moon will shine to the left of Jupiter and Saturn Friday evening, forming a gentle curving arc with the two planets. It should be quite the site!
Lunar Eclipse Visible Next Friday Morning
Mark your calendar now! Early next Friday morning, Nov. 19th, the full Moon will glide through the shadow of Earth, producing an almost-total lunar eclipse. All but a tiny sliver of the full Moon will turn sunset red during the 3 1/2 hour event! Across Texas, the event will begin at 1:19 am CST, reaching the greatest eclipse at 3:03 am and the eclipse ending at 6:04 am CST. Because the moon will be near apogee in its orbit around Earth, this will be the longest lunar eclipse in a span of some 1,000 years! I’ll provide more details on the eclipse next week.
Have a great weekend!
Bob
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