Warm and Dry Pattern Continues through Thursday. Temperatures Turning Colder Friday and into the Weekend

JAN. 5, 2026

2026 is starting off with temperatures well above normal for early January. High temperatures over the first four days of the month have been in the 70s and 80s. Typical high temperatures for this time of the year are in the low 60s. Long-term climate normals indicate average temperatures over the first ten days of January are typically the coldest of the entire year. This very much won’t be the case this year.

Much of Texas continues to be in a dry and mild weather pattern thanks to a broad area of high pressure covering Texas and the southern U.S. The jet stream and the storm track currently stretch across the northern states, leaving Texas warm and dry.  Southerly breezes have returned off the Gulf, bringing a return of milder and more humid air. The increased moisture will lead to a pattern of late night and morning clouds, followed by afternoon sunshine Monday through Wednesday. A weak cold front is forecast to sink south and stall across the northern Hill Country Tuesday evening, having little to impact on temperatures across our area. The front is predicted to move back to the north on Wednesday. Tuesday and Wednesday are shaping up to be the warmest days of the week.

  • High temperatures Monday are forecast to be near 78-80 degrees
  • High temperatures Tuesday and Wednesday are predicted to be in the low and mid-80s
  • High temperatures Thursday are forecast to be near 78-80 degrees

 

  • Low temperatures Tuesday morning will range from the mid-50s across the Hill Country, to the mid-60s near the coast
  • Low temperatures Wednesday morning will include the upper 40s and low 50s across the Hill Country, the mid-50s across Central Texas, and around 60 degrees towards the coast
  • Lows Thursday morning will be in the upper 50s to mid-60s
  • Lows Friday morning will range from the low 50s across the Hill Country, to the mid-60s across the coastal plains

Forecasts call for a potent Canadian cold front to press south across the region Friday morning and Friday afternoon that will bring an end to our current mild spell. The best chances for rain along the front are expected to be across East and Southeast Texas. Unfortunately, no rain is expected with the front when it crosses the Hill Country and Central Texas regions. The middle Texas coast will see a 30 percent chance for a few showers Friday afternoon, but rain amounts will only average around a tenth of an inch. A mostly sunny to partly cloudy sky and noticeably cooler temperatures is forecast Friday through Sunday.  A light freeze is predicted for the Hill Country Sunday and Monday mornings.

  • High temperatures Friday will range from the upper 60s across the Hill Country, to the upper 70s near the coast
  • High temperatures Saturday and Sunday will generally be in the upper 50s to low 60s
  • Low temperatures Saturday morning will include the mid-30s across the Hill Country, near 40-42 degrees across Central Texas, with mid and upper 40s coastal plains
  • Low temperatures Sunday and Monday mornings are predicted to be near 30-32 degrees across the Hill Country, in the mid-30s across Central Texas, with upper 30s across the coastal plains

For next week, forecasts call for a partly to mostly cloudy sky the first half of the week, followed by mostly sunny conditions over the second half. A few light showers will be possible across the region next Tuesday when a weak wave of low pressure approaches from the west. Rain amounts, if any, are forecast to only average around a tenth of an inch.

High temperatures next week are forecast to be a little cool, with daily highs in the 60s. Lows Tuesday and Wednesday mornings will be in the upper 30s. Lows Thursday and Friday mornings will generally be in the 40s.

The latest long-range forecasts still do not show any unusually cold air spreading south into Texas through the third week of the month. Unfortunately, no significant rain is expected over the same period.

December and 2025 Climate

The month of December was unusually warm and quite dry across the entire region. The temperature generally averaged between 4 and 6 degrees above normal. Rainfall generally averaged from a tenth of an inch across the Hill Country, to between a third and a half inch across Central Texas, to between 1 and 2 inches for locations south of U.S Highway 59.

In Austin, Camp Mabry recorded the 7th warmest and the 8th driest December on record.

2025

2025 was another unusually warm year across Texas, with the temperature generally averaging between 2 and 3 degrees above normal.

Rainfall was well below normal across Central Texas and the middle Texas coast. Totals averaged several inches above normal across most of the Hill Country—mainly due to the unusually wet July.

Rainfall at Austin-Camp Mabry totaled 25.94 inches, which is 10.31 inches below normal.

2025 ranked as the 5th warmest and the 26th driest year on record dating back to 1897.

Have a good week!annual

Bob