WACO, Texas (KWTX) - There’s no doubt that November can occasionally feature chilly weather, but a cold front swinging through on Veterans Day is set to drop temperatures well below average for around a week and maybe even longer! While record temperatures likely won’t be set, Central Texas is set to experience the coldest temperatures since March.

You won’t need a parka, but sweater and coat weather is coming back

A snap of cold air arrives in Texas Thursday and pushes through Central Texas Friday bringing us a long lasting chill with temperatures dipping into the 50s for a long string of days.(KWTX)

A large area of cold air is currently pooling across the Pacific Northwest and Big Sky Country and will surge across the Central and Eastern U.S. over the next few days. The core of this cold air mass is going to be more focused on the Eastern U.S., but it’s expansive enough to bring us the chill.

As is fairly typical for this time of year, Friday’s cold front will blast through, drop temperatures, and keep us chilly for a few days. Instead of the cold air moving out after a few days, the refrigerator door (so to speak) to the north will be open for a few days and allow multiple shots of reinforcing colder air to move in.

High temperatures are expected to fall off a cliff after Friday's front moves through with at least seven days of highs in the mid-50s in the forecast!(KWTX)

High temperatures are expected to remain in the mid-to-upper 50s from Saturday through at least next Friday, which is when our 32nd Annual Food For Families Food Drive takes place, while morning temperatures are expected to drop into the upper 30s and low 40s from Saturday morning through at least next Friday morning. The one exception to our morning temperatures may be Sunday morning. We may get just enough clearing overnight to allow some spots to dip into the low-to-mid 30s! We won’t see a hard freeze, but many rural and low lying locations, especially west of I-35, could see the first freeze of the year.

Temperatures aloft for the next ten days shows cold air arriving in Central Texas Friday, but continued waves of colder air will move into the country and keep temperatures cold for much of next week.(KWTX)

Another reason for the long lasting chill will be moisture in the atmosphere. Cold air will be in place, but the sub-tropical jet stream will continue to pump moisture into the upper atmosphere. Instead of seeing clear skies and sunshine every day, which would steadily warm temperatures, we’re expecting at least partly cloudy skies every day from Friday through at least next Friday. While this will keep the chill locked in longer, the extra clouds will help to keep morning lows warmer than what they would be without the clouds.

Cold rain is possible at least two days, but wintry weather is highly unlikely

No one wants a repeat of February 2021′s or February 2022′s wintry weather and thankfully it doesn’t look like we will receive any wintry precipitation. That’s great news, of course, but we’re still forecasting two raw days with gusty winds, occasional rain, and of course those colder temperatures.

Timecast shows a morning cold front swinging through dropping temperatures on Veterans Day, but lingering cloud cover and scattered rain in the late morning and afternoon could help to drag temperatures from the 60s in the morning into the 40s and 50s.(kwtx)

The first chance for rain arrives Friday as the front moves in and even well behind the front. Veterans Day parades, especially ones starting close to lunch time and in the afternoon, could be impacted by the rain. Some scattered rain will be around as the front passes through, but most of the frontal boundary rain will be near and east of I-35. Scattered rain, including with some downpours and maybe even small hail, will be around from mid-morning Friday through the afternoon. No one location has a higher chance for rain Friday than another, so the rain will be very much hit or miss. Rain chances are currently near 50%.

Although Friday's cold front likely won't move through with much rain initially, we're expecting scattered shower and storms to move in behind the front bringing some of us a soggy, windy, and raw Veterans Day forecast.(KWTX)

Although Friday's cold front likely won't move through with much rain initially, we're expecting scattered shower and storms to move in behind the front bringing some of us a soggy, windy, and raw Veterans Day forecast.(KWTX)

Although Friday's cold front likely won't move through with much rain initially, we're expecting scattered shower and storms to move in behind the front bringing some of us a soggy, windy, and raw Veterans Day forecast.(KWTX)

Although Friday's cold front likely won't move through with much rain initially, we're expecting scattered shower and storms to move in behind the front bringing some of us a soggy, windy, and raw Veterans Day forecast.(KWTX)

The next round of rain could arrive with a second frontal boundary coming through Monday. We’re still a bit too far away for specifics on this storm system, however some locally heavy rain could move through. The heaviest rain may actually come in North Texas with some wintry weather possible on the other side of the Red River.

Rainfall totals shouldn’t be very high from these rounds of rain. We’re forecasting between a quarter-inch and half-inch of rain, but locally heavy downpours could bump isolated totals to or even over one inch.

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