Austin's summer is very hot to the very end

Thursday marks the official end of summer — but it definitely doesn't feel like it.

• Temps are expected to once again reach triple-digits Wednesday through Friday.

The big picture: If Central Texas' long, hot summer felt hotter and drier than normal, that's because it was.

• During June, July and August, temps in the greater Austin area were as much as 5 degrees above average — and rainfall plunged below normal, leaving waterways sucked dry or dangerous for swimming.
• Texas overall saw its second-warmest summer on record.

Checking in: As of Tuesday, we've had 68 triple-digit days this year in Austin.

• The record is 90 days, set in 2011. "We're not going to reach that," Matt Brady, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service, tells Axios.
• But we could very well surpass the second-highest triple-digit tally of 69, set in 1925.

What's next: Expect above-normal temperatures and below-normal rainfall through January, per the federal Climate Prediction Center's long-term outlooks.