A strong cold front is set to send temperatures across Texas plummeting this weekend. While some areas will see a shivering 50-degree drop in just hours, other areas further south will begin to feel like fall rather than the height of spring by Saturday, April 18.
This burst of cold air should breach the Texas-Oklahoma border by Friday night, brining freezing nights and chilly but sunny afternoons to the Texas Panhandle this weekend. Near the state border, towns will see freezing temperatures until Sunday. But afternoons should be pleasant, with clear skies and highs hovering in the mid-60s.
“Residual cooler temperatures continue throughout the coming weekend. High temperatures will generally remain near to below average, with the potential for Saturday night to feature locations that could flirt with overnight lows at or just below freezing,” the National Weather Service Amarillo office reports.
However, temperatures should rebound by the start of the work week, climbing into the mid-80s by Tuesday.
All that chilly northern air is expected to hit North Texas, namely the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex, by Friday night. But it’s brining storm clouds with it.
A nearly 30-degree temperature drop is expected between Friday afternoon and evening as this mass of cold air hits the DFW metro area, sinking from 85 degrees at the warmest to 57 degrees at the coolest. At the same time, thunderstorm odds begin to spike with 50% chances looming over Friday night and most of Saturday.
It’ll certainly be cooler for the weekend. Afternoons shouldn’t escape the low-60s, according to the seven-day forecast. And this bout of heat-relief should last until Wednesday, when the afternoon highs hit 80 degrees again.
“The front will move through North and Central Texas overnight into Saturday morning, bringing cooler conditions and gusty north winds,” the NWS DFW office notes. ”With ample moisture out ahead of the incoming boundary, showers and storms are expected to develop along and behind the front through Saturday as it advances south.”
It’s a somewhat similar story for South Central Texas, through the impacts of the front will progress slower. After several 90-degree days, the cold front should reach the region by Friday night into Saturday morning, bringing those highs immediately down to the upper 70s to 80 Saturday afternoon.
By Sunday, temperatures shouldn’t climb out of the 60s – a major cool down after days of near-summer highs. Evenings won’t quite be freezing, but they’ll feel chilly as they dip into the low- to mid-50s across South Central Texas and the Texas Hill Country.
However, storms are on the horizon for San Antonio, Austin, the Texas Hill Country and South Central Texas overall as this burst of arctic air hits. In the Alamo City, a 50% to 60% chance looms over all of Saturday, but a roughly 40% chance continues through Sunday and into Monday.
“This front will move across the entirety of South Central Texas by mid to late afternoon bringing chances for showers and thunderstorms through the weekend,” the NWS Austin-San Antonio office warns. “Precipitable water values increase ahead of the front generally ranging from 1.5-1.75 inches.”