BurtonFitzsimmons.com

Mother Nature made sure we all knew it was still summer on Friday, and it’ll still feel like it Saturday, the first full day of fall, before cooler air blows in Sunday. With stormy weather on the horizon, we invite you to check back here and on ‘Weather on the Eights’ before heading out this weekend. Looks like fantastic weather next week…

The heat hit hard Friday afternoon, producing some sweltering heat indices:

107 Downtown Austin
105 Austin Bergstrom
105 Fort Hood
105 Lago Vista
105 Round Rock
104 Taylor
104 Temple
104 Waco
103 Camp Mabry

As if that wasn’t enough, the Gulf breeze blew quite ferociously throughout the day with several hours of reports indicating wind gusts at or above 30mph. Both ABIA and Temple observed a peak gust of 33mph today.

Fall officially arrives tonight at 11:03pm, with our first cold front of the new season pushing in about 24 hours into the new season. That means Saturday will be hot through the afternoon, likely with a mix of sun and clouds. There’s a 40% chance for showers and storms breaking out late in the day as the front approaches.

For the game… Wear your summer burnt orange attire because it’s going to be hot at the 2:30pm kickoff! We think heat indices will make it feel like 100 degrees. Winds will be breezy from the south during the game, with a slim 20% chance for rain.

Then we may get a lightning show after the game. Storms will likely rumble through the area late Saturday evening with an overall 50% chance for rain from sunset to 3am. Some of these strong storms may produced damaging winds and hail. Accumulations may exceed one inch under the heaviest. Then, the rain will taper Sunday morning with skies clearing Sunday afternoon as a cool north breeze moves into town.

We look forward to temps below normal, both day and night, for several days next week.

Tropical Update…
Hurricane Helene looks to be on her last leg. The storm’s located in the middle Atlantic and is starting to accelerate northeastward, becoming more ragged on the latest satellite loop.

The official forecast calls for a decrease in the storm by Sunday, with remnants of Helene moving towards the British Isles early next week.

Finally, it’s a pleasure and honor to report our “Texas Flood” series which aired on Memorial Day weekend has been nominated for an Emmy award! Chief Photographer Lalo Garcia, Executive Producer Rachel Elsberry, and I all look forward to the awards ceremony in late October. Keep your fingers crossed….

Enjoy your Friday evening and have a wonderful weekend.

Meteorologist
Burton Fitzsimmons

What’s arguably the best season of the year arrives in just two days, and we’ve got a great preview here today. Beautiful weather abounds across the Lone Star State with sunny, dry conditions in most areas. Warmer days ahead will be limited by yet another cold front this weekend.

It’s no doubt the coolest morning for some areas since spring. Lowest area temps:

48 Dripping Springs
49 Big Sandy Crk@Jonestown
49 Fredericksburg
50 Harper
50 Jollyville
50 Spicewood
51 Bertram
51 Big Sandy Crk@Elgin
51 Driftwood
54 ABIA

Under abundantly sunny skies, expect to warm to near 90 in most areas this afternoon with a light easterly breeze. The Gulf winds returns tomorrow with more moisture by the weekend. Between now and then, daytime highs will gradually ease back to the upper 90s.

Futurecast shows the first of two front sweeping towards Texas. The first, arriving before Friday, looks to bring very little in the form of rain or cooler air our way but will affect North Texas. The second, arriving Saturday night into early Sunday, may bring our next round of substantial showers and storms and will likely keep our temps in comfy territory near average into next week.

As the jet stream dips down even further south, we can expect more of these fall cold fronts to sweep through the south. Speaking of fall, the Autumnal Equinox occurs late Friday (officially at 11:03pm) into early Saturday with the arrival of the new season. It’s the second time during the year when the Earth, due to it’s tilt in relation to the sun, will see equal day and night hours everywhere on the planet. Fall is known as our secondary severe weather season in Central Texas, so be prepared for potentially stronger storms during the next few months.

Tropical Update…
Hurricane Helene looks impressive on satellite this morning even though the “eye” is now overcast again. Helene continues moving NW at 9mph with maximum sustained winds at 110 mph. Some strength may be gained today, with the official forecast calling for brief category three status by this time tomorrow.

Hurricane Gordon made a rare pass through the Azores as a weakening hurricane. Wind gusts were clocked there up to 80mph. Gordon’s official wind speed, as of 6am, is 75mph making him a very weak hurricane. He continues moving quickly eastbound at 35mph.

Another disturbance or tropical wave can be seen moving past the West Coast of Africa towards the Cape Verde Islands. We’ll keep an eye on what could turn into “Isaac” in the next several days.

Enjoy your Wednesday.