BurtonFitzsimmons.com

A few scary clouds make a reappearance in our skies this Halloween though the forecast is anything but frightening. Mild 70s and upper 60s will greet all the little ghosts as they hit Central Texas streets tonight without a sign of any wild-eyed raindrops. After the warmest day of the week, a bone-chilling cold front sweeps wicked winds back to town…

Coolest lows as of 6am:

40 Fredericksburg
40 Jonestown
41 Lago Vista
42 Manor
42 Spicewood
43 Barton Crk@Oak Hill
43 Driftwood
44 Dripping Springs
46 Lakeway

It may turn out to be ghoulishly warm under some of those costumes today as screaming sunshine beams down, with high temps just above 80 for goblins in the city by afternoon.

Today’s warmth comes with a brief cameo of sneaky southeast winds, though they won’t last long enough to make it hair-raisingly humid.

A killer cold front’s on the way through Texas today and will slither our way, we think, between midnight and sunrise tomorrow with some howling winds in tow (wind speeds up to 15mph with gusts near 20mph for Thursday.) We don’t anticipate rain.

Trick-or-Treat… It’s a treat! Temps will cool to the upper 70s by our 6:45pm sunset, with upper 60s expected by 10pm for street crawlers. A few eerie clouds may appear from time to time.

As the “crypt-keeper” high pressure over the southwest moves to old Mexico these next few days, a kink in the jetstream will drop cold air like a guillotine through the Plains, sending some truly bone-chilling temps towards Texas next week. As it looks today, the blustery front will scream into our area Monday with daytime 60s for many days next week.

In the Tropics… Tropical Storm Noel continues as the true weather nightmare for North America today, having claimed as many as 22 lives across Hispanola and continuing to send rain bands and dangerous winds to Florida. As of 6am, the storm’s moving NNW at 7mph with sustained winds at 40mph. The official forecast carries Noel across the western Bahamas today then accelerates the storm and curves it northeast, running parallel to the East Coast as it moves into the northwest Atlantic this weekend.

Watch out for those kiddos and low-flying brooms as you venture out for tricks and treats today and tonight, and enjoy your Halloween.

Boo!

Meteorologist
Burton Fitzsimmons

More fantastic fall weather will be found across Texas these next few days in spite of some subtle transitions. For the first time in more than seven days, we’re about to see a few clouds again as the Gulf breeze and some of its humidity returns to the area. A couple of cold fronts will make an appearance though won’t likely bring any rain as we enter November.

Coolest lows so far, as of 6am:

37 Rosanky
38 Dripping Springs
39 Fredericksburg
39 Bull Crk@Jollyville
39 Jonestown
39 Oak Hill
40 Cedar Creek
41 Betram
44 Lakeway

Southeast winds will pickup during the day today, warming us to near 80 this afternoon and into the low 80s for Halloween, likely the warmest day of the week.

High pressure continues to dominate the southwest, keeping the weather stable. With the jet stream flowing from the Pacific Northwest basically along the Canadian border, we don’t see too much cold air flowing south right now.

Futurecast indicates a rather wimpy cold front will sweep across Texas Thursday, lowering temps by a few degrees as north winds briefly return to our area.

Then the Gulf winds resume Saturday, allowing high temps to climb back up to near 80 degrees for the weekend. That strong fall cold front we’d talked about yesterday now appears to be slowing a bit and might not arrive until late Monday or early Tuesday, and it probably won’t come with many showers but we will at least indicate a 20% chance for rain in the forecast. Most models indicate enough moisture supply in the atmosphere by that time, but it’s still too early to tell with much certainty. Check back for updates on the 8-day forecast.

In the Tropics… News wires report as many as nine million people without power in the Dominican Republic this morning and a death toll of at least 10 in the wake of Tropical Storm Noel. The center of the storm’s hugging the northern coast of Cuba, moving west at 12mph with 60mph winds (satellite loop.) The official forecast indicates some strengthening, possibly to weak hurricane status, as Noel curves northward into Thursday. It’ll most likely curve a path inbetween the Bahamas and southeast Florida then accelerate northeast through the end of the week.

Halloween Forecast… Got a thick, furry costume? No reason to be scared, but you might end up a bit warm this Halloween! Our temps will rise into the low 80s tomorrow before a 6:45pm sunset. We expect temps to drop into the upper 70s by 7pm, cooling to near 70 by 9pm, and around 60 by midnight. Boo!

Enjoy your Tuesday.

Meteorologist
Burton Fitzsimmons