Updated 845am CDT Friday / 3 May 2013

Unseasonably Cool Temperatures ….
A Weekend Warm Up ….

On this Friday morning…. a strong polar high pressure building into Texas from the north northwest in the wake of yesterday’s cold front. Given this surface pressure pattern, surface winds are gusty northerly across our area of the state.

In the upper levels of the atmosphere…. a deep eastward moving trough.. or line.. of upper level low pressure extends south southwestward from the upper Mississippi Valley into Texas. Given this upper air pattern, winds over south central Texas and the Austin metro area about 18,000 feet above the ground are west northwesterly 25 to 35 mph.

As the upper air trough over the central  USA moves eastward, unseasonably strong polar high pressure.. moving into the central USA right out of Canada.. is holding in much cooler temperatures for our area. Some overnight low temperatures tonight may reach into the mid and upper 30s in some outlying low lying areas.

As the polar high moves east of the area.. southerly winds will return to the area by Saturday through the remainder of the weekend into next week with warmer temperatures and increased low level moisture returning to the area.

Have a good Friday Night and Weekend…
Meteorologist Troy Kimmel

Contact me:
tkimmel@austin.utexas.edu
http://www.facebook.com/troykimmel