University of Texas students Evan McElroy and Savannah Brightwell walk on campus on a brisk, windy morning Wednesday. McElroy said he welcomed the return of sweater weather. “It’s finally not sweating in October,” he said.
Jay Janner/Austin American-Statesman
“Hot-tober” quickly turned to “Ahhhh-tober” on Wednesday after a strong, blustery cold front moved across Central Texas. However, it may quickly turn into “Octo-brrr” on Thursday and Friday morning.
Temperatures dropped about 35 degrees in less than 24 hours — from a hot afternoon high of 87 degrees on Tuesday to a chilly morning low of 53 degrees at Austin’s official thermometer at Camp Mabry.
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Strong, gusty winds accompanied Tuesday’s front, with several gusts topping 40 mph, including a 45-mph gust in Georgetown and at Austin-Bergstrom International Airport, and a 40-mph gust at Camp Mabry. Other strong wind gusts were also noted, such as one at 38 mph in Taylor and 36 mph in Burnet and Fredericksburg.
High atmospheric pressure has settled over Texas, bringing much calmer winds, sunny skies, and dry weather to round out the work week. Clear skies each night will allow for good radiational cooling, which occurs when dry air allows heat accumulated during the day to more easily escape from the Earth’s surface on cloudless nights. This will lead to some of the coldest temperatures we’ve felt in six months, since early April.
We’ll wake up Thursday with air temperatures in the upper 30s and 40s, with some spots nearing freezing, especially in the low-lying rural areas of the Hill Country. Winds blowing between 5 and 10 mph will cause temperatures to feel more like they’re in the lower to mid-30s, even in Austin.
Even though the wind will be light, “feels like” temperatures could dip into the 30s in Austin on Thursday morning.
Pivotal
The regional National Weather Service office for Austin is urging Central Texas to remember to dress appropriately, bring pets inside and practice space heater safety.
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Thanks to abundant sunshine and light winds, afternoon temperatures on Thursday will climb into the low to mid-70s. On average, Austin in late October has an afternoon high of 78 and a predawn morning low of 56.
Halloween will start Friday morning with bone-chilling temperatures again in the 30s and 40s, but winds will be much lighter, so wind chill won’t be as much of a factor. By afternoon, temperatures will climb to near-normal levels in the mid-70s.
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By Saturday, an upper-level atmospheric disturbance will move south across the region, bringing a slight chance of showers and a few thunderstorms. Temperatures will climb a bit, with highs in the lower to mid-70s. The system will push east by Sunday, allowing dry, cooler weather to return as we head into early next week.
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Colorful Disney characters, spooky princesses, ghosts and goblins enjoyed a night of trick-or-treating at Bastrop’s Boo Bash at Fisherman’s Park on Oct. 1. The event was hosted by the city in partnership with the Bastrop Fire Department. Community members, businesses and organizations handed out treats and candy for a fun-filled night.
Contributed by city of Bastrop/T
Trick-or-treating forecast
For the trick-or-treaters on Friday night, the weather won’t be ghoulish at all. We won’t be sweating it out or needing to cover up costumes with jackets.
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By the time the kiddos hit the streets to collect candy from house to house around 6 p.m., temperatures will be in the low 70s with mostly sunny skies and light southeast winds. Once the sun sets at 6:44 p.m., temperatures will dip into the mid-60s by 8 p.m., and by 10 p.m., as the evening wraps up, readings will fall into the upper 50s.
Compared to past Halloweens in Austin, this year’s weather looks frightfully perfect. The hottest Halloween on record in Austin was in 2003, with a high of 90 degrees; the coldest was in 1993, when the thermometer bottomed out at 30 degrees. The wettest Oct. 31 in Austin was 125 years ago, when 2.8 inches of rain fell on Halloween in 1900.