AUSTIN, Texas — Editor's note: This post will no longer be updated as of Aug. 23. Check out our forecast for the Austin area here.
Thursday was the second day in a row of record-breaking heat in Austin, with a high temperature of 107 degrees. Believe it or not, this 107-degree temperature was actually a two-degree drop from the day prior, and an even more noticeable temperature drop is on the way Friday.
We don't want to be misleading, as it's still going to be hot through this weekend. However, the heat levels will be much more manageable with afternoon highs eventually falling into the upper 90s by Sunday. Next week's heat will be more along the lines of what you expect for late August here in Central Texas.
Early Friday morning, the National Weather Service issued a Heat Advisory for most of Central Texas from noon until 9 p.m. We expect a high temperature of approximately 100 degrees in Austin, but some spots east of Interstate 35 could stay in the low to mid-90s. There will still be humidity Friday, so "feels like" temperatures could run as high as roughly 108 degrees.
It's not a major rain chance, but as we have seen the past few days, there could be some isolated showers and storms Friday. The rain chance is 20% to 30% percent and will favor areas east of I-35.
There is no formal severe weather threat, but any storms that form in this type of heat could produce strong downburst winds in excess of 40 mph. Make sure you head indoors if a storm approaches.
Both Saturday and Sunday should be almost completely dry, with high temperatures in the upper 90s to lower triple digits.
The "cooling trend" will continue through the first half of next week, with highs dropping into the mid and upper 90s. Some days could even feature high temperatures that are slightly cooler than average for this time of the year! There will also be slightly higher rain chances next week with a 20% possibility in the forecast Tuesday through Thursday. This won't be a major pattern change, but it will sure beat the weather we've had for most of this week.
The KVUE Weather Team will continue to closely monitor this developing forecast.
In the meantime, the extended forecast can be found below:
