Bulk of the rain for the week comes Thurs - Fri

The cooler temperatures are a headline alone! We are enjoying the coolest temperatures we’ve seen in Central Texas since May. Highs are expected to be in the 80s for the next four days. That is so, so, so nice especially since we normally still see highs in the 90s this time of year. We will return to the 90s next week, so soak up the fall-feeling temperatures. Speaking of soaking... another weather headline is the rain. We have a few more rounds of wet weather before we dry out on Sunday. It’s not going to rain every single day for every single person, but we do see our highest rain chances of the week starting tomorrow.

Our next wave of storms, once again, approaches from west Texas along with some upper level support. The ingredients are all lining up for tomorrow to start with soggy weather. We really have two waves tomorrow - the first is the heavy, widespread rain in the morning with the second, more isolated, chance of spots of heavy rain in the afternoon. Our front (focal point for rain) is in a favorable spot + Pacific moisture continues to stream in. This leads to widespread and potentially heavier rain for Thursday morning. In fact, the bulk of the 1″ to 3″+ rainfall totals we’ll see through Saturday should fall tomorrow. Severe storms aren’t terribly likely Thursday, but a stray strong storm could produce some small hail and gusty winds. Thursday’s highs in the upper 70s and low 80s will stick around Friday too with another round of rain pushing in likely in the afternoon.

The next few waves could change in timing, but here’s what we are currently thinking: Friday’s rain may be heaviest and most widespread during the afternoon and early evening hours, so there could be some impact to Friday night football games, but there’s also a chance it moves in later or even impacts areas farther south. As of now, it looks like we’ll switch back to a higher morning rain chance Saturday, with drier air clearing out the rain for the afternoon. Saturday’s highs in the mid-80s will stay in the mid-to-upper 80s Sunday with full sunshine for most of the day. Highs should creep back into the low-to-mid 90s for much of next week too, but our next cold front and next rain chance could start to push in Friday and into next weekend.

How much rain do we need to get out of the drought? Still 9-12 inches, but this week’s rain definitely helps.

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