Only a few more scorching hot days are expected in Austin before a mild (ish) fall sets in, according to the National Weather Service.
A cold front arriving Wednesday is expected to bring thunderstorms and drop daytime highs to the low 90s. By Friday, morning lows will drop to the high 60s and stay there for the foreseeable future, according to National Weather Service meteorologist Mack Morris.
Overall, Morris expects this fall to be slightly warmer and drier than normal, but not oppressive like recent years. Last October was the hottest and driest in Austin — by far — in 126 years of record keeping.
“Last year we had highs in the 90s basically every single day,” Morris said. “Hopefully we aren’t tortured again this year.”
Morris said this year’s relatively mild summer sets the precedent for an easy fall. This year, the National Weather Service only recorded 11 hours of triple-digit heat at the Austin-Bergstrom International Airport. In 2023, they recorded 270 hours.
The cooler weather is rolling in with the autumnal equinox, a twice-a-year phenomenon when day and night are equal almost everywhere globally. The autumnal equinox was Monday, but Austin will actually get the most equal balance of day and night on Friday, when the sun rises at 7:21 a.m. and sets almost exactly 12 hours later at 7:22 p.m.
From here on out, the days will get shorter. By the end of September, the sun will set more than 30 minutes earlier than at the start of the month. Short days are a key ingredient to colorful fall leaves, but Morris said it’s too soon to tell if Austin will get any this year.
Austin’s pecans, red oaks and bald cypress trees also need a mix of rain and cold weather to change colors. Despite this summer’s flooding, most of western Travis County is still considered abnormally dry and eastern Travis County is under moderate to severe drought.
That doesn't necessarily mean Austin won't get a great leaf season.
According to smokymountains.com, a travel guide site that posts an annual fall foliage prediction map, fall foliage will peak in Austin in mid-November.
