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Hot, humid weather will soon be replaced by cool fall breezes! For the second day in a row, temps will near 90 by early afternoon then the autumnal air arrives, dropping us back to the 70s and 60s through the evening.

But first… some breaking weather news:  the official NOAA outlook for Winter 2009-2010 confirms what readers here learned months ago. El Nino’s on track to deliver cooler and wetter than normal weather to Texas in the season ahead.

Only a slim 20% rain chance accompanies today’s front, so most of us won’t have to deal with much more than a few morning drizzle drops. Our daybreak skies look to be producing some brief patchy fog, as well, before turning partly sunny.

Futurecast indicates no major storms crossing Texas with this front. It’ll be accompanied by northwest winds at 8 – 18mph into the night, with some gusts around 25mph. Temps continue to drop into the mid and upper 50s through sunrise Friday then rebound only into the low and mid 70s Friday under lots of sunshine.

Fine Fall Weekend… If you’re planning to be outdoors early Saturday or Sunday morning, plan on needing your jackets! Another surge of cool air pumps south during the day Saturday, providing widespread 40s by early Sunday. Temps will run around 5 to 8 degrees below normal.

Texas plays Oklahoma at the Cotton Bowl on Saturday. Morning skies will be clear with lows in the low 50s, rising to near 60 around the 11am kickoff. Expect middle 60s by the fourth quarter. Winds are forecast from the north at 5 to 12 mph.

Cool Lingers… Today’s 8-day forecast shows fall air lingering well into next week, even as another Pacific system moves across the county midweek. Slim rain chances briefly re-appear next Wednesday and Friday.

Enjoy your Thursday.
Meteorologist
Burton Fitzsimmons

Morning fog and drizzle again brought headaches for some travelers with dense fog mostly north of Austin at daybreak.  Summerlike 90s come back for one day only, with high enough humidity to make it feel as hot as 100 this afternoon!

Tuesday rain totals:

1.85″ Lago Vista
1.82″ Lakeway
1.65″ Spicewood
1.55″ Fredericksburg
1.41″ Leander
1.16″ Stonewall
1.06″ Jonestown
0.84″ Temple
0.80″ Waco
0.74″ Dripping Springs
0.42″ Fort Hood

After lunch, look for partly sunny skies to offer brief heat ahead of tomorrow’s moderately strong cold front.

Futurecast shows the front diving across Texas, arriving here during the afternoon with a cooler and drier breeze to enjoy Thursday evening through the weekend. A secondary surge of cool air pushes south Sunday, offering cooler-than-norm temps through much of next week including some rather chilly nights!

Red River Rivalry… The forecast looks great for Saturday’s Texas-OU game at the Cotton Bowl in Dallas. After morning low 50s, expect sunny skies and cool low 60s for the 11am kickoff. By the end of the fourth quarter, temps will be rising into the upper 60s.

Goodbye, Patty… Tropical Storm Patricia went from a decent looking storm to virtual nonexistence in the last 24 hours. Having been downgraded to a TD overnight, the National Hurricane Center says goodbye and good riddance to the storm that fed plenty of moisture across Texas the last few days, very similar to her predecessor TS OLAF just two weeks ago.

Enjoy your Wednesday.
Meteorologist
Burton Fitzsimmons