Austin residents should brace for a slew of cloudy days and potential thunderstorms as forecasts predict increased humidity and storm activity heading into the weekend. According to the National Weather Service, the city is expected to see fluctuating conditions starting with patchy fog before the arrival of mostly sunny skies and a peak temperature of around 84 degrees today.
Tonight, Austin's weather will take a turn with increasing clouds and lows dipping to around 71 degrees, the southerly winds are picking up reaching speeds of 10 to 15 mph and possibly gusting as high as 20 mph, the scenario persists through Thursday which will remain mostly cloudy with highs near 85 and wind gusts potentially topping 25 mph. The nighttime forecast promises more of the same, with lows holding steady and gusts that could hit 30 mph.
By Friday, the chance of showers and thunderstorms jumps to 50 percent under mostly cloudy skies as south winds continue to blow fiercely; gusts may reach 30 mph while the mercury approaches an 82-degree high. KXAN News explains that the looming storms are powered by a rise in humidity due to ongoing southerly winds, and two upper-level systems that will nudge the West Texas dryline, a known catalyst for thunderstorms, closer to Central Texas.
Weekend weather appears equally unsettled, with partly sunny conditions on Saturday giving way to chances of showers and thunderstorms lasting through Monday night, during this period, Austin might experience wind gusts reaching up to 40 mph and residents should prepare for rain accumulations ranging between 0.25" and 1.5" as mentioned by a KXAN News report. Despite the turbulence, temperatures are expected to hover in the comfortable mid to high 80s during the day, dropping only slightly to the upper 60s and low 70s at night.
The coming days suggest that umbrellas and light jackets will be essential for Austinites, with Tuesday offering a continued 20 percent chance of rain and high temperatures in the upper 80s. As is characteristic of Texas weather, changes loom large on the horizon, and residents should keep an eye on forecasts for the latest updates.
