The capital city of Texas is gearing up to quickly become a beacon of warmth as Austin's weather takes a turn towards spring-like conditions in what's still officially winter. According to the National Weather Service, today's patchy fog will give way to increasing sunshine with a high hovering around 77 degrees. With the South wind blowing at 10 to 15 mph, some gusts could ramp up to 25 mph.
Tonight's forecast suggests bumping up clouds over Austin, with a low simmering around 61 degrees. Those warmer nights are a mark that the city's wardrobe is transitioning away from heavy winter coats. Wind conditions are expected to be consistently brisk, with gusts reaching heights of 30 mph. The shift to warmer temperatures is further confirmed by Thursday's outlook, projecting mostly sunny skies and temperatures reaching a moderate 85 degrees. However, the serenity may be briefly disturbed by a South southwest wind in the morning, turning Northwest in the afternoon, which could gust as high as 20 mph.
But there's a potential snag in the otherwise clear skies. As reported by KXAN, these altering wind patterns bring with them more than just a change in temperatures. A dry cold front is anticipated to sweep through Austin tomorrow, and with it, an increased risk of wildfires will spread across the region due to drier air descending from the West/Northwest. This comes as "a ridge of high pressure building in from Mexico will deflect a California storm away from us," but the effects will nonetheless raise an eyebrow for fire safety concerns.
As Austin's residents ready to bask in toasty high 70s come Friday, they will do so under the scrutiny of vigilant eyes monitoring the wildfire threat. Worry over these risks will likely peak on Thursday courtesy of the dry cold front, with more reasonable temperatures forecasted for the start of the weekend. What the city is now witnessing is an early breath of spring that ushers in uplifted spirits and the pragmatic circumspection of a community standing guard against the spark of danger.
