WHAT’S IN FORECAST FOR LABOR DAY WEEKEND
The clouds over Austin have everyone wondering if it’s going to rain out the Labor Day weekend. At stake is more than barbecue plans or that last frolic in the Highland Lakes: What’s the weather going to be like at 6:30 p.m. Sunday in Royal-Memorial Stadium when the University of Texas opens its football season against Notre Dame? We’ll try to answer that and a few other pressing questions about Austin weather this week. When is it going to rain? More likely Tuesday than any other day this week. The National Weather Service’s extended outlook as of Monday afternoon calls for a 40 percent chance of storms Tuesday. Rain prospects dwindle to about 20 percent for most of the work week.
What’s up with those Gulf storms?
Forecasters are eyeballing two low-pressure systems in the Gulf of Mexico: Tropical Depression No. 9 churning in the east and a much weaker system loitering off the Texas coast.
The tropical depression is expected to hook right and make landfall in northern Florida on Thursday. The other system is so disorganized and unstable, it has only a 10 percent chance of developing into a tropical cyclone, the weather service says.
What does this mean for Texas?
Lower Colorado River Authority meteorologist Bob Rose says the counterclockwise motion of the weak disturbance near Texas
will deliver moisture resulting in scattered rain throughout Central and Southeast Texas on Tuesday and early Wednesday.
“Most of the rain will be of light to moderate intensity but some isolated heavy downpours will be possible,” Rose wrote on his blog Monday. The Austin metro area could see rain totals of around a quarter-inch or less, he said.
Rose also warned that “another feature to watch late week will be a weak cold front sinking southwest out of the Middle Mississippi Valley.”
So what’s the weekend going to be like?
Persistent mosquito-friendly humidity means a small chance of rain remains Saturday. But a high-pressure system bringing dryness and heat will move into the area Sunday and deliver mostly sunny skies by kickoff time at UT, forecasters say.
The main weather threat facing the football players and folks watching in the stands will probably be the heat index.
Temperatures are expected to climb to a high near 92, but high humidity could make it feel more like a stifling 100 degrees.
“It doesn’t take long for the sun to come out and push up the heat index,” weather service meteorologist Cory Van Pelt said.
How are the lakes right now?
Filled and primed for fun, according to data from the LCRA, which manages the Highland Lakes. Lake Travis was at 100 percent capacity Monday. The elevation was 681.25 feet above mean sea level, or about 3 inches above full.