Warming trend during the working week: increased risk of forest fires, isolated severe storms possible until mid-week

AUSTIN, Texas — A warming trend is forecast for the start of the workweek with temperatures rising from the high 60s on Monday to the high 70s by Wednesday.

The warming trend begins with gusty south-southwest winds raising temperatures. These gusty winds are increasing the fire risk throughout central Texas Monday and Tuesday afternoon, with an increased fire risk west of Interstate 35 in the Hill Country due to low relative humidity and the ongoing drought.

Please be careful with expected fire weather. No burning outdoors. Do not throw cigarettes out of car windows and call 911 immediately if you spot a fire.

Rain probabilities enter the forecast from Wednesday afternoon as humidity continues to increase across the region and a cold front and dry line approach from the northwest. This will trigger a series of isolated to scattered thunderstorms across north Texas. That storm line could build back up in central Texas late Wednesday night. Everything will come together to support some strong storms, with a storm or two potentially getting heavy by Wednesday night.

The Storm Prediction Center has placed Williamson County and northern Travis County in a low-risk, high-risk area for this period. This will not be a severe eruption and the main concerns are gusty thunderstorm winds and possibly some small hail. The greatest serious risk is further north toward the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex.

The best potential for rain from these storms is in the northern parts of the area, where a quarter to a half inch of rain can potentially fall with the storms. Elsewhere, most areas are lucky enough to see a tenth of an inch of rain. At this point, we will take every drop we can get to mitigate the ongoing drought.

The KVUE storm team will continue to closely monitor the forecast over the coming days.

In the meantime, check out your extended forecast here.