Image Courtesy of FOX 2 St. Louis
Hello everybody. I hope you all had a wonderful weekend. We officially topped out at 95ºF at Camp Mabry on Sunday afternoon missing the record high of 96ºF set back in 1926 by one degree! We tied the record high of 95ºF set back in 1991 at the airport. Get this, Monday is likely to be HOTTER!!
Why is it so darn HOT?
Well, we can thank several factors for the well-above normal warmth:
1) High Pressure aloft (sinking air aloft suppresses rain, let alone clouds from developing allowing for abundant sunshine
2) Southwesterly surface wind, is a down-sloping wind for us here in central Texas and a warming wind. This southwesterly wind flow tends to develop ahead of approaching storm systems/frontal boundaries from the west and northwest. Air is forced to sink from the higher elevations west and southwest of Austin and off of the mountains of northern Mexico. As that air sinks, it compresses, and heats up!
3) Drought! Moderate, severe, and even extreme drought across the area helps to boost temperatures. Remember, dry ground heats up a lot more efficiently than wet/moist grounds.
All of the conditions listed above will come into play once again on Monday to set us up for a near, if not record hot day across the area. The record high at Camp Mabry for Monday is 98ºF set back in 1991, the airport's record high is 97ºF set back in 1991. A breezy southwesterly surface wind flow and west, southwesterly wind flow above the ground ahead of an approaching surface cold front will allow for temperatures to soar. The approaching frontal boundary actually works to add a few degrees to afternoon highs thanks to a phenomenon known as prefrontal heating. Highs Monday will be very near, if not at record levels.
Forecast 5 p.m. Temperatures across Texas on Monday (NAM 4KM model)
Image courtesy of Tropical Tidbits
Slight Cool Down
A cold front will thankfully work its way through the area late Monday night into early Tuesday morning, putting an end to the record heat. There is a slight chance (less than 20% chance) for a brief shower or storm, especially along and east of IH-35 as the front moves through the area. Significantly drier and slightly cooler air pushes in behind the front for Tuesday and sticks around for the remainder of the week. Highs will drop into the upper 80s and lower 90s behind the front, with 50s and low 60s at night under mostly sunny/mostly clear skies. Another weak front arrives for next weekend, reinforcing the dry and mild conditions. Keeping my fingers crossed for some significant rains in the near future. Maybe next week!!
Forecast Lows early Wednesday (Refreshingly cool in the 50s and 60s state-wide)
Image courtesy of Tropical Tidbits
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