BIG Cold Front on the way!

Good Afternoon everybody and TGIF! We have some changes heading our way. Moisture is already beginning to stream back into the area at both the surface and middle layers of the atmosphere ahead of a strong cold front that is currently blasting through the Texas Panhandle. It is currently 39°F in Amarillo with a north wind howling at 30 mph putting wind chill values in the 20s! That mass of Canadian Air is heading south and will arrive in Austin around midnight, if not a little before. 

Ahead of the front the latest high resolution forecast models are forecasting scattered showers and storms to develop. I'm putting rain chances at 50% for this evening and tonight. Some of the storms that develop will be strong. Tonight's rain should not pose a flooding threat because the front will be moving so quickly.

HRRR (High Resolution Forecast Model) shows the front entering the northwestern Hill Country around 10:00 p.m. this evening with a skinny line of showers...streamer showers will develop ahead of the front across the I-35 corridor:

Behind the front temps will quickly fall from the upper 50s to middle 60s into the 40s with a strong north wind sustained between 10-20 mph with gusts in the 25-30 mph range. We will wake up to temps in the mid and upper 40s along and east of the I-35 corridor with temperatures in the upper 30s and lower 40s across much of the Hill Country. Very dry air will move in behind the front and should allow for a clear, beautiful blue sky on Saturday, however, temperatures will struggle to get out of the 60s area wide on a north wind. Temperatures will drop back into the 40s and 50s area wide Saturday night.

Hi-Res model clearly shows the sharp temperature contrast ahead and behind the front:

Wake Up Temperatures: You'll definitely need a jacket or sweater if you are heading out early Saturday