The relief from yesterday's cold front was only enjoyed by a handful while the heat prevailed for all, and that's the story out there again today. We'll watch for pop-up storms to develop out in what will otherwise be another sweltering hot summer afternoon. Our forecast calls for a high near 103 with a 20% chance of showers & storms.
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Latest computer models show more hit-or-miss activity blossoming along the weak front, which is forecast to drift northeast as it washes out over the next 24 hours.
Timing for rain? The best shot will happen during the afternoon, when temperatures are at their hottest and the atmosphere is most unstable. While they shouldn't last long, the strongest storm cells could deliver lightning, strong storm winds, and potentially some hail. When thunder roars, head indoors! The activity should die down quickly after sunset.
Futurecast shows another round of very spotty storms trying to develop tomorrow, too, but we're not so confident.
Meanwhile, heat continues to take the headlines with today marking our 8th triple digit day in a row (putting us a tie for 2nd longest 100 day stretch this summer) and also bringing the hot triple digit count for 2018 up to 42. That's exactly where we stopped last year (and also in 2013.) Unfortunately there's no end in sight! This will likely go down as the hottest summer in metro Austin since 2011, when we experienced the all-time record count of 90 triple digit days.
A strong ridge of upper-level high pressure is moving towards El Paso from the west, and we predict that it'll end up directly over Austin by Thursday. That means we have all the reason in the world to believe temps will end up above 100 -- and maybe as hot as 103 or 104 -- through at least Friday before starting to drop again as the high pressure cell moves eastward.
If you don't see rain in your backyard today, I'm afraid it's not likely going to happen for at least a week and maybe for the rest of the month. Join us on 'Weather on the 1s' on TV or the live stream for a recap of the rain plus a look ahead at the long range forecast.
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Keep cool!
--Chief Meteorologist Burton Fitzsimmons (@Burton_Spectrum)