The storm system that brought the heaviest rain we’ve witnessed in several weeks is now pushing to the east with a brief period of drier weather before another storm system moves in at the beginning of the busiest travel time of the year in the United States.
The past few days have been quite wet across Central Texas, with rainfall totals between 0.50 and 1 inch in Austin. However, the heaviest rain fell in the Hill Country. The highest total came from Ingram in Kerr County, with 5.38 inches. Harper in Gillespie County was next with 3.83 inches, followed by Tow in Burnet County with 2.92 inches.
Scattered showers and storms will linger across South and Southeast Texas on Saturday while Austin and the rest of Central Texas will see a break in the activity. After a cloudy morning, the sun will peek through at times during the afternoon.
This is a perfect forecast for the second-to-last University of Texas home football game. The Longhorns will be taking on the Arkansas Razorbacks at 2:30 p.m. at Darrel K. Royal Memorial Stadium. Kickoff temperatures will be in the mid-70s with a light north wind between 5 and 10 mph.
Another upper-level storm system is set to move into the Lone Star State on Sunday and into Monday.
“The system has slowed a bit on the latest forecast model runs, so the highest rain chances have also been pushed back into the Sunday evening through Monday afternoon time period,” the Austin/San Antonio bureau of the National Weather Service wrote in a recent forecast discussion. “We will need to watch this system for the possibility of locally heavy rainfall given well above normal moisture being in place.”
Increased moisture and high humidity will be in place Sunday, with periods of heavy rain expected to develop ahead and along the Pacific front, which is expected to officially move through the state Monday.
The forecast shows additional rain totals of 1 to 2 inches across Central Texas during this time. On top of the heavy rain from this past week, the soil is saturated and additional runoff could lead to localized flooding. The Weather Prediction Center has highlighted the Rio Grande, Southern Edwards Plateau and Interstate 35 corridor with a marginal to slight risk of flooding Sunday.
The Pacific front associated with this next system should be stronger, so a quicker end to precipitation chances is anticipated from west to east Monday evening and then a cooling trend is in store through the remainder of the forecast, which includes Thanksgiving. Morning temperatures will range from the upper 30s to low-50s, and afternoon highs will be in the low 60s to near 70 degrees.
Beyond the Thanksgiving holiday, the weather next weekend will continue to be cooler than our normal high and low of 68 and 47 degrees, along with wetter than normal conditions.
