Strong to severe storms may be possible in Central Texas today

* For a full video on the forecast make sure to download our KWTX Weather App for free in the Google Play and Apple App Stores * Shower and thunderstorm chances increase today. If you have any plans to be outdoors this afternoon and evening, make sure you have ways to receive weather alerts. A few strong to severe thunderstorms look possible for Central Texas. Our weather dangers in today’s storm will mostly be large hail and strong wind gusts, but we cannot rule out a tornado or two from forming across Central and North Texas.

Our storm chances today come as Friday’s cold front, which stalled to our south on Saturday, retreats north across Central Texas as a warm front. That means muggier air will make a comeback as the front lifts north throughout the day. We’ll also have the dryline moving in from the west - That may also be a focus point for shower and storm development. Partly to mostly cloudy skies can be expected today. We cannot rule out a few hit and miss showers after sunrise into the early afternoon hours, but the better chance for thunderstorms arrives as we head into the afternoon. Our thunderstorm window for Central Texas looks to be between 4 and 9 PM. Storms look to quickly race west to east across our area with the storm threat diminishing after sunset. Temperatures for the morning start out in the low 50s north to upper 50s south Sunday and warm into the upper 70s to the mid 80s for the afternoon.

As the new work week arrives, get ready for an early taste of Summer! High temperatures Monday and Tuesday will soar into the mid 80s to low 90s. Keep in mind our normal high temperatures for this time of the year sit in the mid 70s. We’ll also monitor the record highs early this week. The record high for Monday, April 3rd is 93° set back in 1989 and 92° for the 4th, which was set back in 1902. A cold front is set to move in late Tuesday night into Wednesday morning. This front is going to bring a major cool down to our area. We look to drop back into the upper 60s and low 70s behind the front on Wednesday, but with rain and breezy north winds in the forecast for Thursday, we get even cooler and drop down into the 60s for highs! We stay cooler than normal into Easter weekend. Highs in the 60s continue Friday and Saturday, with temperatures warming back into the 70s for Easter Sunday.

Rain gear is definitely needed for the upcoming week. Forecast models bring heavy, beneficial rainfall into Central Texas for the first full week of April. The best coverage of rain looks to arrive towards the end of the week on Thursday into Friday. Monday and Tuesday’s rain chances look limited for Central Texas - We’ll be monitoring the dryline moving in from the west for the possibility of an isolated storm during the afternoon and evening hours. Now outside of the rain chances, we’re expecting strong southerly winds both Monday and Tuesday. Air behind the dryline will be significantly drier, which is going to increase our fire danger for the western half of Central Texas. The mid-week cold front will stall to our south once again and act as a focus point for showers and thunderstorms across the Lone Star State. Rounds of scattered showers and storms will be likely Thursday and Friday. There are major differences in our forecast models regarding when the rain will clear out. One model keeps rain around into the start of the following week and another ends the rain on Saturday. This also impacts the amount of rain Central Texas could see. Despite the differences we are seeing in our models - They are both showing much needed rainfall heading our way. We could see 1.5″ inches west of I-35 to 3.5″ east. Make sure to check back in for more updates over the next few days. We are monitoring the potential for a rainy Easter holiday in Central Texas.