Daily rain chances return through the weekend

Tuesday was warm and muggy. Clouds ended up breaking up around mid-day, and sunshine and south winds boosted temperatures in the low to mid 80s, but some upper 80s occurred out west. Dryline driven thunderstorms are forecast to fire up in West Texas and the Panhandle late this afternoon and evening… Right now, those storms do not have a great chance at surviving the trek east/southeast down towards Central Texas, but there’s a chance that they could. IF storms hold together, they’ll get into our western/northwestern areas after 10 PM, and push southeast into Central Texas, and dissipate by around 2 AM. The severe weather threat is low if these storms make it into Central Texas. Now, hopefully you were able to enjoy the brief break from showers and storms, but it’s time to find that rain gear again! An unsettled-weather pattern will be hanging around through the weekend, with daily rain and storm chances in the forecast for Central Texas. Thankfully, our severe weather threat is much LOWER than what we saw late last week and weekend, but there could still be a few stronger storms with gusty winds and hail. Now, one of our bigger concerns is the threat for flooding, especially in areas that saw flooding from the heavy rain that fell last weekend. Widespread rainfall between 1″ to 2″ is looking likely with isolated amounts of 3″ to 4″ possible, especially in our northern and eastern counties.

Rest of the Work Week Forecast: Low clouds surge back in tonight with another round of patchy fog possible for your Wednesday morning commute. Low temperatures are forecast to be warmer and drop down into the upper 60s and low 70s. The forecast throughout the day will be a lot like what Tuesday was… The only difference is the return for late-afternoon showers and thunderstorms. Afternoon clouds will be clearing some and breezy southeast winds will keep us very muggy. Highs will be in the low to mid 80s, but could be a little warmer depending on how much sunshine you see, but regardless, we’re all going to *feel warmer because of the humidity. There will be a chance for showers and thunderstorms to bubble up for the afternoon hours, especially for the southern and southeastern parts of Central Texas. With the warmth and humidity in place, there’s a chance for isolated strong to severe storms with 60 mph winds and quarter to half-dollar sized hail the main threats for the afternoon and evening hours. While coverage of rain looks to remain hit and miss throughout the day Wednesday, a much-larger wave of rain looks to move through Wednesday night into Thursday morning. We’re expecting this line of showers and storms to initially develop out west, where the greater threat for severe weather exists. This line of activity will gradually weaken as they move east, but could still be on the strong to severe side as they approach and move through Central Texas. In any stronger storm, strong winds and hail will be possible, but these storms could also be heavy rainmakers and increase the flooding concern Wednesday night into Thursday morning. By daybreak Thursday, showers and thunderstorms will likely still be on-going for the eastern half of Central Texas. Off-and-on storms will continue through at least the first part of the day before gradually coming to a close by Thursday late-afternoon and evening. Temperatures for Thursday will start out in the upper 60s and low 70s and warm into the upper 70s to mid 80s. Another quick shot of rain and storms looks possible late Thursday night into Friday morning as a cold front blows through Central Texas. We’ll have to monitor the severe weather threat, but it is highly dependent on the activity that occurs earlier in the day Thursday - But right now the threat for severe storms looks low. Rain chances look to come to a close by Friday afternoon. Temperatures may be a degree or two cooler for Friday behind the “front”. Highs Friday look to be in the upper 70s to low 80s.

Weekend Forecast: That same cold front is forecast to stall out somewhere in or near our area over the weekend. That front will be the focus point for additional shower and thunderstorm development for the upcoming weekend. Rain chances are slightly higher on Sunday as an upper-level disturbance is set to swing through. For the weekend, scattered, not widespread, showers and thunderstorms will push in Saturday, with them continuing into Sunday too. A stray few stronger thunderstorms are possible, but we’re not 100% certain on the specifics as of this time. The forecast for next week, the first full week of May, is looking much quieter and also much warmer too. We’ll have low-end rain chances on Monday, and then start to see drier weather for the weekend. The big story for next week is the return of those early summer-like weather conditions. Highs from next Tuesday to at least next Thursday will likely be near 90° with heat index values nearing or even exceeding 95°. Happy May, Central Texas!

Make sure you have our free, KWTX weather app downloaded so you can keep up with the latest updates in the forecast.

Copyright 2024 KWTX. All rights reserved.